I Like You
by Cho 17
Summary: The mere utterance of these three words could change their lives dramatically. These three words are the difference between their future and their past. HxN SxS
1. Chapter 1

_**I Like You**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything pertaining there of. This story is in no way associated with official publication of the Naruto manga or production of the anime. It is a work of pure fan fiction. All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Viz and Shueisha publication.

A/N: _Thoughts_, _**Flashbacks**_, Present- A key to avoid confusion. Keep it in mind for later chapters.

_**Chapter 1: The Me Reflected in Your Eyes**_

_There's a certain discrepancy when I see myself reflected there in those deep cerulean pools. There in your eyes, the ones that can see a person's actual soul, I am someone. I exist as an arduous human being that houses latent and unlimited potential. In truth, in reality, I am facile. I am imperfect. I lack._

_I want to be the me you see; the me reflected in your eyes._

Hinata, little, shy, timid Hinata stood as a lone figure in the training grounds. She leaned with her front against the wood of one the columns that stood erect in the surrounding, her face passive as her mind wandered the vast spaces of reverie. She clutched the battle worn wood in her slender hand and closed her eyes as a gentle breeze began to blow. The trees that surrounded the grounds began to move along with nature's breath and by the way the branches danced on the wind and the leaves rustled, Hinata was inclined to think that the trees had come alive. They seemed to be moving on their own and what they were doing struck Hinata as rather rude because they seemed to be laughing. Laughing at her.

Perhaps the solitude and emptiness had amplified her imagination, or maybe she was right and nature had found her intentions to be humorous, but whatever was the case, the Hyuuga suddenly felt very, very self conscious. Maybe there was still time. Maybe she could leave without actually seeing him. Yes, it could work. She could run back home and then when he asked about it later she could simply say that she had been caught up with something else, something important. Fat chance. What was more important than what she was doing now? What she was doing now was a life altering course of action, one that she hoped worked out for the best. Of course, she'd never know if it would unless she tried and she **would** try despite what anyone or any tree thought.

_I want to be the me I see reflected in your eyes._

"Hey! Hinata!" His voice! It was **his** voice. The pale colored eyed kunoichi felt her cheeks burn from simply hearing the friendly and familiar tones of his ample voice. When she saw him running towards her, large grin on his face, her heart raced at incredible speeds. When he finally reached her and doubled over to catch his breath, it was all Hinata could do to stand on her two legs. So much for running away, now she **had** to face this head on.

A lot could change about a person in two and a half years Hinata noticed. Naruto had grown. He was tall now and he was sporting a new look. Black and orange versus the old white and orange jumpsuit he wore constantly as a child. His face had even changed. His chin was more defined than before and his face… his face had been molded into a young man's face. When he looked up at her with a smile on that manly face after catching his breath, she noticed that it was less cocky than before as apparently even the world's number one unpredictable ninja could mature. Though… his eyes hadn't changed and Hinata silently hoped they never did because in his eyes a world of possibility existed. The person she wanted to be existed there, reflected in his blue eyes.

Nartuo straightened up and looked down at her curiously when he noticed that she wasn't quick to say anything.

"What is it? Why'd you ask me to meet you here? Do you want to spar?" The girl shook her head and concentrated on her feet. Naruto was just as impatient as ever because he had taken a detour from his schedule in order to come see his friend. He was due at the front gate to assist in a mission with his new team, Team Kakashi. He'd be reprimanded for being late but he decided that she was worth the risk. After all, he was curious about how she'd changed in the two years he'd been away. He was curious about all his friends and since Hinata was the first one to make the initiative to show him, he decided now was as good a time as any to catch up.

He watched her for a moment. She seemed tense about something and his questioning probably didn't help. It was Hinata after all. He'd be surprised they could have a normal conversation without her fainting or changing red. She was most likely trying very hard to make sure that such things didn't happen so Naruto decided he'd wait for her until she was ready to start.

It was no good. At the rate she was going, she'd be stuck as she was; unmoving. She needed to say something now or never. She looked up into his eyes, studied her reflection, then spoke.

"W… well…," she started, silently angry at herself for stuttering like a moron when she had drilled herself for hours so she wouldn't, "I really wanted to let you know that… there's a girl in the village that l…likes you…" She wanted to slap, punch, and choke herself. That hadn't come out the way she wanted it to at all. Naruto's eyes widened in sudden interest, a coy smirk played on his lips, and a little blush stained his cheeks.

"Hm?? S… seriously??" He asked, unable to hide his ecstasy. Hinata nodded slowly and Naruto crossed his arms and looked thoughtfully up at the sky.

"Hmm… I wonder who…," he said more so to himself than Hinata. Not wanting him to forget she was there, Hinata said, "It's someone you've been teamed up with before." Naruto's eyes focused on her again and he frowned slightly.

"Well that's a big help. I've been teamed up with almost all the girls here. Give me another clue."

"W…well… She's liked you a very long time Naruto-kun… but never had confidence to tell you so." She'd started tapping her index fingers together in that undying habit that expressed her nervousness. Naruto stared at her. For a few moments, time stood still and Hinata wondered if he'd figured it out. In answer, she received a frustrated sigh.

"I'm blank. Are you gonna tell me Hinata?"

"Ugh!... Erm…" Curious cerulean eyes stared at her in perplexity, slight worry played on his brow. Hinata grasped the wooden pole to steady herself. Her face was red now, completely flushed and the world was spinning as dizziness began to claim her mind. She had to tell him now. There was no turning back.

"Please don't faint! I want to know before I have to go on this mission." His voice was pleading and Hinata hated herself for being so weak, so frail. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly she said, "It's… it's…"

"Huh? I didn't hear you."

_I want to be the me I see reflected in your eyes_.

"It's me!" The boisterous sound of her own voice caused Hinata to "eep!" and place a hand over her mouth in shock. She looked at Naruto who seemed dazed by the loudness of her voice and her sudden confession. The trees were still. No breeze blew. And silence was all that couldn't be heard.

"I know… I'm probably… not who you had in mind… but… but… it's true! I've liked you since that day when we were children and I was out with my father. He'd taken me out for ice cream and I saw you sitting on a bench with a cone of your own… You were kinda mean to me but I sat with you anyway and ate ice cream with you while my father talked to someone. My ice cream fell out of the cone… and… I started crying… And you gave me your ice cream and left without saying anything. I knew that then, despite you being a rascal that caused a lot of mischief, you were really a nice guy.

I watched you from that point on and…," she stopped when she saw the look Naruto was giving her. It was a mixture of confusion, interest, and weariness. She was surprised that she had managed to say any of that at all because it was a secret that she had guarded with her soul. And seeing his reaction gave her a feeling of dread. Backing away from him, she looked at anything else but the blonde ninja and said, "I know it sounds really weird Naruto-kun… but I've really learned a lot from you. You're probably the reason I'm brave enough to say any of this at all… but… I guess it's unrequited isn't it? I can imagine how weird and freakish it sounds to like someone for this long a time and not say anything but… I couldn't keep running from it. I had to tell you now more than ever because this Akatsuki thing is probably your main focus right now and I probably won't see you for a while…" Summoning up enough courage to finally face him, Hinata offered him her brightest smile. Her action caused Naruto to gulp noisily, nervously and look at her, **really** look at her. He was looking at her like she was a different person, like he hadn't seen this girl before him ever before in his life.

"… Anyway, I have to go now. Thanks for listening Naruto-kun and sorry for taking up your time." Hinata bowed humbly before walking past him and back towards the village. Naruto caught a whiff of her shampoo as her long ebony locks trailed behind her, having been caught on the turbulence of the newly blowing breeze. It smelled like lavender. Slowly he turned so that he watched her retreating back. She was completely different from the person she was when he first came to talk to her. She emitted a new confidence, a different confidence. And Naruto was seeing it all for the first time.

_I want to be the me I see reflected in your eyes... Naruto-kun… have I succeeded?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Promises of the Future**_

Ninjas aren't supposed to feel. For a ninja, life is expendable, tomorrow is never promised therefore there is not enough time to waste for silly emotions. For Naruto, emotion is a must; ninjas **should** feel **because** tomorrow is never promised. To be able to feel… to be able to act on emotion… it is what separates man from beast. It is what creates the conscious; what **gives** a person life. And for a ninja to admit such a thing takes a courage that the jincuuriki finds inspiring. So after Hinata's confession, Naruto was inspired to do something nice for her.

It's true that maybe it was in his best interest not to get involved with affairs of the heart during such a critical point in time. After all, the Akatsuki's hunt for the jinchuuriki was only just beginning and already four bijuu were in their possession and some of the Leaf's own ranks were killed as well. Even though four of the Akatsuki's members were down for the count, the threat was still heavy. And not only that, but apparently Sasuke was on the move with a group of his creation to find his accursed older brother after successfully killing Orochimaru. With all the stuff happening that created imminent danger and strife in Naruto's life, it was a wonder he even had time to think about unimportant things like emotions. But he did have time and before he'd known it, his feet had led him to the place of his destination.

He stared at the Hyuuga estate's front gates determinedly. He hadn't the courage to just go in brazenly like he would have as a child, so he settled for simply staring at the gates. How could he go about it? He had no idea, but when he remembered Hinata's smile, that illuminate, charming, cute smile, he brushed aside his sudden reluctance and stepped forward.

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"Hinata, there is someone here for you." Hinata stopped in mid-kick, and Hanabi who had been blocking, preparing for the blow, looked curiously at her when it didn't come. The two sisters then turned and looked questionably at their father who stood nonchalantly at the entrance of the room. Confusion overwhelming the girl, Hinata asked, "What?"

"A visitor. For you," Hiashi repeated gruffly before leaving.

"… Hm? A visitor… for me?" Wiping the sweat from her brow that had been produced during her harsh training with her younger sister, Hinata gave Hanabi an apologetic look and left out the room after her father.

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Her knees buckled at the sight of him; Uzumaki Naruto was in her front room waiting patiently for her… or as patiently as he could be. He seemed to grow bored and tired of waiting, so thinking that no one was around to see, he began messing with the household decorations. Hinata giggled when he dropped a decorative vase and caught it before it could shatter into a million pieces on the floor; however, his saving the vase left him unbalanced and his flailing leg knocked up against a table, knocking over a second piece. As soon as the mini sculpture hit the ground, it broke in half. He gasped and placed the vase back in its proper place and picked up the broken geisha. He studied it for a moment and then sat it back in its spot as well. The good side was visible to anyone who cared enough to look and he placed the broken half in his pocket. Thinking that he'd gotten away with his clumsy crime, he crossed his arms behind his head and leaned casually against a wall.

She had to remember how to breathe. It had been a month since she confessed to him and four days since he had returned from the mission he had been given. She hadn't seen him in a total of thirty-four days. Not that she was counting or anything…

What could she do? How should she act around him? She slapped herself to get a grip on her overwhelming thoughts and watched Naruto a little longer. He had come to see her hadn't he? So there was nothing more to do than find out what he wanted right? It was a simple task and Hinata knew she was up for it even if she didn't feel up to it.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the room looking casual and confident, or at least she hoped so anyway. Judging by the way the blonde ninja was looking at her, which was completely focused, she guessed she'd managed to create the vibe she wanted.

"Hey Hinata!" He greeted warmly. She smiled sweetly and fought the urge to look at her feet.

"N… Naruto-kun… W… why are you here?" She mentally strangled herself for stuttering again but decided she could work through it since Naruto didn't seem to mind. Though he did smile wearily and scratch his head like he was uncomfortable in her presence.

"Hm? Is it **that** weird? I'm sorry, but I've just done a favor for the both of us!"

"Us?" He nodded and grinning widely, revealed the two tickets he had hidden behind his back.

"See these? They're tickets to the movies to see the latest installation of the Sky Princess series. I'm in it! I just thought that maybe you'd want to go see it with me." Naruto told before bashfully looking away from her and rubbing the back of his neck. Hinata looked from him to the two tickets and then back again. A warm feeling swelled up in her chest and she took one of the tickets smiling brightly as she did so.

"Okay! I've been so busy with missions I haven't had time for movies… When is it?" Naruto looked at her, having clearly gotten over his shyness, and grinning said, "Right now! We'd better go or we'll be late!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along as he guided her away from the Hyuuga residence. They were out headed towards the theatre before Hinata had time to grasp the idea that this could be considered their first date.

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The Sky Princess was a popular movie and was made even more popular when it was revealed to hold some truth to it since the Sky Princess actress was really the princess of the Snow Country! Hinata smiled when she remembered how Naruto and Team 7 returned from escorting the princess back to her country. Naruto was excited and kept talking about how fun it had been to protect a real life princess. The Hyuuga heiress couldn't help but fantasize about being his princess, the one he protected diligently, as he retold the story of his adventures upon his return. To Team 7's utter surprise they received a letter a little time later asking if it would be alright for the producers of the Sky Princess movies to use them in one. Apparently they had footage of their adventures at Snow Country and wanted to use it in a new installation of the movie. Of course Naruto was all too willing to be put on the big screen and agreed along with the rest of the team. Unfortunately there was a two and a half year delay because of all the political turmoil involved in the creation of the movie that had to be cleared before it could be released.

Now they were watching it and Naruto could barely contain himself.

"Wow! Look at me! I'm so cool! Hey everybody! Watch! My rasengan is about to turn into the seven color chakra!" The whole theatre cast angry glares at the teen and hissed, "Shh!"

-----------

"That was nice Naruto-kun! I enjoyed it a lot."

"Bah! Yeah but I got us kicked out before you got to see the end…" The solemn teen kicked a can dejectedly as he walked beside his companion and Hinata watched him sympathetically.

"That's alright! Besides I like to imagine my own ending for it." To this, the forlorn boy suddenly looked at the girl with confusion written on his face as he said, "Huh?" Giggling a little at his facial expression, Hinata stopped and turned around to face the theatre from which they had to leave a little earlier than expected. She trained her eyes on the building and said, "It's easy Naruto-kun! I just imagined you getting upset because you missed your chance at getting the princess' autograph but… S… Sasuke-kun gives you one on a picture of you beat up and the princess k…kissing you on the c…cheek!" Hinata blushed sheepishly for having to mention Sasuke's name and hesitantly looked to see the expression on Naruto's face. Where she expected to see sadness at the mention of his absent teammate, she was greeted with admiration.

"…W…wow! How accurate!!" He cried. There was silence and then Naruto dramatically pointed an accusing finger at her when he saw the tell tale veins that crawled from her eyes to her forehead, which suggested she was using her clan's special abilities.

"Hey! You cheated and used your byakugan to see inside the theatre!" Caught red handed, Hinata could only laugh off his accusation and her laugh caused him to smile. Suddenly, a low rumbling filled the air and both of the ninja's looked at the cause of the sound, Hinata's stomach.

"Are you hungry Hinata?"

"Uh… a little…"

"Let's go eat some ramen!" He grabbed her arm and guided her to the ramen restaurant that he swore by.

The restaurant, Ichiraku, was filled with delicious aromas that had the Hyuuga's stomach growling in anticipation when she took her seat beside Naruto. Ramen made from scratch was always a treat and when the owner placed a bowl full of it in front of her, it was all Hinata could do not to simply put the bowl to her mouth and just gulp it down. Because she had home training that taught her better than that and she didn't want Naruto to think of her as a heathenish, gluttonous pig, she pulled some chop sticks out of the cup holder and smiled at her friend thankfully.

"It's the old man's new recipe! You'll like it a lot Hinata!"

"Hm!"

"Thanks for the meal!" Both teens exclaimed before stuffing their faces. When the both of them had completely devoured their bowls, Naruto paid despite his friend's protests and the both of them left with full tummies.

"That was good!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes! Now I'm **really** full…"

"Okay!!" Hinata flinched at Naruto's sudden burst of enthusiasm and watched him wearily as he patted his stomach and held a fist in the air, "We gotta work off all this food! Let's run a hundred and ten laps around Konoha on our hands!"

"S… seriously Naruto-kun?" The loud mouth looked at her with a determined expression but it fell apart when he started laughing after he saw the terrified looked on her face.

"Hehheh! No! I just wanted to be like fuzzy brows for a minute. We can do ten laps from that billboard and back. The one with the fastest time doesn't have to treat the other the next time we hang out!"

"Next… time? We're… You're going to hang out with me again?" To this Naruto looked at Hinata in utter puzzlement before saying, "Well… of course! It was so much fun this time that I think hanging out with you again won't be such a bad idea. Right?" The girl looked at him for a moment without saying anything. He'd hang out with her again. It probably wouldn't be anytime soon what with all the things going on and all but it was definitely going to happen again because it was Naruto that had said so. If there was one thing Hinata knew about the object of her affections, it was that whenever he said he'd do something then it was as good as written in stone.

"Hm!"

"Right! Now are you ready Hinata?"

"Yep!"

"Go!" No sooner had the word left the blonde's mouth were the two of them off in a blur of fast movement. They seemed to be head-to-head in terms of speed so after the both of them finished the 10 laps, they doubled over to catch their breaths and Hinata said, "…Looks… like… huff… a tie…" Naruto nodded in agreement and wiped some sweat off his brow.

"Guess… puff… we split the… costs!" And that was it. The promise of a next time; a future.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Truth isn't always what it Seems**_

"Hey Naruto! Back from your training?" The experienced genin looked exasperatedly at the source of the voice and saw Kiba smiling at him cheerfully. Akamaru was following closely behind the teen and Naruto jumped back in alarm as he was still not accustomed to the large dog that had evolved from the small yapping pup that he'd known only two and a half years before.

"H… hey Kiba. Yep! I just got done! Man… Kakashi-sensei is brutal…," Naruto told while rolling his shoulder to get a kink out, "What's up?"

"Oh nothing much… I just wanted to talk to you about Hinata." After disclosing the truth about his sudden visit, Naruto looked at Kiba curiously. The plain and casual tone he used to describe the reason for his visit completely defied the underlying meaning of his words as well as his true purpose. Just what about Hinata had Kiba come to talk about?

Truly Naruto and Hinata had become quite close since she confessed to him and that first time they hung out. In fact, it was becoming common to see them together since lately they were inseparable. But Naruto hadn't thought much about his relationship with Hinata, well… he didn't think it was cause for inquiry or conversation. All they did was hang out while they weren't on missions or busy training. No one seemed to mind, it wasn't a big deal. But now that someone **was** confronting him about it, he didn't know what to expect because quite frankly it caught him off guard. What could Kiba possibly have to say about it?

"I heard you guys have been hanging out a lot lately. Does that mean you're like this," Kiba twisted his middle finger around his index finger and held it up for Naruto to see. The blonde blushed and mimicked the hand gesture.

"Like… this…? N… no! That's not it!" He waved his hands dramatically and shook his head just as vehemently to make certain that Kiba understood that there was no twisty finger romance going on between him and Hinata. He wasn't aware of the coy look Kiba was giving him because of his dramatized behavior.

"Hm? Then if she's not your girlfriend, what's going on with you guys?" Girlfriend? That word wasn't one that he would use to describe Hinata. In fact, that word hadn't so much as crossed his mind at all whenever he was with her. No one else seemed to think it either. So why was this suddenly coming from Kiba? Naruto was flushed and his uncharacteristic uneasiness made Kiba watch him closely.

"W… well… recently I just thought it'd be cool to hang out with her!" Naruto proclaimed as an excuse. His declaration offered another reason as to the why of two shinobi teenagers of the opposite sex suddenly hanging out that was different than hanging out suddenly because they were attracted to each other. And it was also one that Kiba wasn't buying. Kiba's face faulted and he shook his head in exasperation.

"That's a lame excuse Naruto!"

"No it's not!"

"Aha!" the chuunin exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at the unsuspecting ninja, "So you admit that was an excuse! Tell me the real reason!" In defeat, Naruto sighed and looked at the ground as he responded to Kiba's vociferous demands.

"Okay… Recently… I found out… th… that Hinata likes me..." Naruto's usually cacophonous and unconcealed voice was low and barely above a whisper. Good thing that Kiba had hearing equivalent to a canine and thus was able to make out the words that the kyuubi's vessel spoke. A sigh escaped the fifteen year old and he slapped his head with annoyance when he heard what Naruto had to say. Akamaru followed his master's lead and whined irately. Naruto quirked an eyebrow in curiosity about their reactions.

"You're just now figuring this out?"

"Huh?"

"Everyone else already knows it Naruto! You're so slow!" Feeling his temper flare at Kiba's open insult, Naruto cried, "What!?" Kiba looked at Naruto condescendingly as he was apparently unabashed by the raise in the boy's volume. Naruto bit back his anger, finding that it was foolish to get angry. After all, he usually was the last one to find things out. That was nothing new. But for everyone to know Hinata's feelings without her having to say anything… And feelings about him nonetheless… well, it was a new low for him to have sunk to.

"Well... whatever! She told me about it recently and said she's liked me for a while now. I started hanging out with her because… because… I know it takes a lot of guts to open up to someone! Especially if you're as shy as Hinata! I just thought… I just thought it'd be nice if I at least acknowledged her feelings even if I don't feel the same way…" Silence followed Naruto's insightful explanation. The blonde nin rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed as though trying to relieve himself from some kind of burden that was weighing down on him. He wasn't aware of the silent exchange between Akamaru and Kiba, but he wouldn't have cared anyway if he was. He was trying to come to terms with the way he had explained things to clarify his own reasoning to himself. He hadn't wanted it to seem like he was giving Hinata charity because of her feelings for him otherwise it would seem as though they were some kind of hindrance. He wasn't bothered by the way she felt and he wasn't like Sasuke. He couldn't just cruelly tell someone off for liking him since he knew first hand the kind of damage that kind of reaction could cause because Sakura's crying face was etched permanently in his memory.

At the same time he wanted to be clear that there was nothing more than a mutual friendship going on between the two of them since that's all it was. Friendship. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Well… that's good Naruto… but… tell me. Why **don't** you like Hinata? Do you already have someone that you like?" Kiba's question was another awkward inquiry that caught Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja off guard. Naruto's upper lip curled unattractively and his bottom jaw opened diagonally.

"Huh?" Kiba didn't repeat himself because he knew he'd asked a pretty straightforward question that even the dumbest graduate from the academy could comprehend. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and said, "Er… I thought I did…" And he was indirectly referring to Sakura. Sure he'd been head over heels for her, but any maturing boy would find Sakura's uncanny beauty to be attractive. She was just a good friend now, a teammate, someone he'd die to protect, a nakama. So he had let her go especially when he saw that her feelings for Sasuke weren't soon to disappear even after the boy abandoned them. Kiba nodded knowingly and then asked, "Isn't Hinata pretty though?" Yet another bold and personal inquiry from the big headed, mut- using ninja. Naruto was starting to get a little suspicious but he answered the question all the same.

"Yeah… she's cute…" Extremely, freaking, criminally hot was what he really wanted to say. He wasn't unaware of how she'd matured in the last two years. She'd become quite the beauty and he found that he would catch himself staring at her longer than he liked and if she knew, longer than she'd like as well. It wasn't natural and there was no way he'd admit that to Kiba.

"You guys have fun together right?"

"Er… yeah. Hinata's a blast to hang out with once you get to know her!" And he would be starved for a good time without her. Not that he couldn't have fun by himself or anything because he did have a lonely, depressing childhood that entitled him to entertain himself, it was just that he was used to having her around now, accustomed to her company and a little unfamiliar with loneliness. Of course, that was a minor detail Kiba could do without.

"And you don't like her because…?" Naruto stared at Kiba who looked at him meaningfully. Yes Hinata was pretty. Yes she was fun to hang out with. And yes Naruto **liked** her. She was his friend! What was Kiba getting at? Suddenly weary from all the questioning, Naruto backed away from his friend and said, "I… I… I gotta go now! Bye Kiba!"

"Wait Naruto!" But it was too late. Naruto was already jumping roof tops five buildings away in his hasty escape. Kiba grunted in irritation and looked at the wall next to him.

"I'm sorry Hinata," he said. The girl appeared as if from nowhere after removing the blanket that blended her in with the surrounding wall. She looked solemnly at her feet and sighed.

"I… feel so… guilty now…"

"Don't. You have a right to know the truth! Besides, now that you know, you can do the right thing. I'm just sad that you had to find out this way." Hinata nodded mechanically. Her eyes watered a little and she wiped at them furiously. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't! She refused! Kiba watched her and concern etched itself on his facial features.

"Hinata? Are you okay?"

"Y… yeah… Thanks for being a good friend Kiba… Bye now…" She began walking away at a quick pace, leaving Kiba and Akamaru to watch her retiring form.

Maybe Naruto would have said something different if he'd known she was there. But that was the point of her hiding wasn't it? They didn't want Naruto to lie; they wanted the truth from his own mouth. Hinata had been against it from the start but Kiba talked her into it and curiosity got the better of her. She had recently suspected that it was a possibility that Naruto probably had feelings for her by now (a half year later) and had decided she could call him her boyfriend if she wanted but Kiba wasn't so sure and didn't want her to get her hopes up too high otherwise she'd end up highly disappointed if that wasn't the case. And she was. She was devastated.

It wasn't the fact that Naruto didn't like her the way she liked him. That was never an issue because she was happy and content to know that he was at least willing to be her friend. But obviously he didn't want to even be that. He just hung out with her because he felt obligated to. He wasn't even genuinely interested. But whoever was? She was Hyuuga Hinata, boring, shy, timid, and self conscious. No one wanted to be bothered with her. Not even her own family.

With depressing thoughts such as these filling her mind, later that day when Naruto came to see her, she was completely downtrodden.

"Hey HI-NA-TA!" Naruto exclaimed merrily. He was unaware of her foul mood and even more oblivious to the fact that he had unknowingly been the cause of it. When Hinata didn't respond right away, Naruto looked at her and noticed her sad expression.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" His sudden concern made Hinata's heart jump. But thinking that it wasn't sincere made her sink deeper into her melancholy.

"No."

"Then what's wrong?" He was in her face now, and she could easily see the worry etched in his expression. Hinata stared at him, searching his eyes, trying to decipher if his concern was genuine or not but soon gave up and looked away when she realized how futile it was. After all, you can never tell with a faker.

"Naruto-kun… I… I… I don't think we should hang out anymore…," she whispered. She didn't want him to hear her voice shake. The boy looked at her confusedly.

"Huh?"

"… Well… the time we spend hanging out should be time spent training and…"

"What are you saying Hinata? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?" She closed her eyes tight to hold back the tears that had started to fill them.

"… I know you're just hanging out with me to be polite!" She blurted, finally giving in to her aggravation and despair. Naruto's eyes widened and Hinata continued, "Forgive me but I was eavesdropping on you and Kiba…" Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock and he backed away from her. Hinata held her heart and turned away from him.

"I'd hate to be the thorn in your side Naruto-kun… I know you've got a lot to deal with and I'm not helping… And… And really… I would have been happy just being your friend if it meant something more to you than the girl you have to be nice to because she… likes you…" The tears she'd been battling reigned victorious and they fell freely from her eyes creating a stream of her sorrows that was visible to Naruto. Seeing her cry provoked a strange and alien feeling in the pit of the boy's stomach but he wasn't sure where the feeling stemmed from. He also wasn't sure how to conduct himself. Usually, if it was Sakura who was crying, he'd kick the ass of who ever was responsible for it. But he was the one who made Hinata cry and he couldn't very well kick his own ass.

After a moment, she inhaled a large breath and then exhaled slowly. She dried her eyes with her jacket sleeves and looked at Naruto with a forced smiled.

"So…" She stood up and turned her back on him, "Good-bye…" She started to walk back inside her house (mansion) and Naruto watched her go dumbfounded.

"B…bye…"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Missing**_

They were friends… weren't they? He regarded her as one of his closest buds. But she believed, truly and honestly believed that he harbored no such feelings if any at all about her because of what he had told Kiba. It was irritating. And it was highly distracting.

Tsunade had been given new information in regards to Akatsuki and Sasuke. She'd sent people out to investigate and claimed she'd let Naruto know the newest tidbit of info she received. It was nerve wracking and because things were getting so tense, Tsunade was ordered by the village council to minimize Naruto's activities. He could have had some hand in making them think that way. Because he wasn't easily pinned down, the Hokage sent him on missions that were indirectly connected to Akatsuki and Sasuke. But even with the low level missions and little Akatsuki involvement, Naruto couldn't seem to concentrate and he almost jeopardized himself and his team on many occasions all because thoughts of Hinata filled his mind and rendered him useless in the face of combat; all because he couldn't forget the sadness in her eyes when he had made her cry.

He couldn't get the image of the tears and pain that he had caused out of his head. He didn't like to see the people close to him unhappy especially if the unhappiness had been his doing. And what further irritated him was the fact that Hinata wasn't bothered. She was living as carefree as a bird. Her abrupt exit from his life on bad terms didn't faze her in the least. And it irked him because he wanted to make it right and she wouldn't let him.

Naruto was wrong in one prospect. Hinata didn't **seem** bothered and she **seemed** to be living as carefree as a bird but she wasn't. She was just as troubled as Naruto and didn't know how to fix it. So she opted to not create any more tension between them by appearing unburdened and keeping her distance, a very hard task in itself since she was missing him just as badly as he was missing her. Thus, the façade was quickly wearing down her delicate psyche and she found herself wandering Konoha purposelessly one day to ease her troubled mind. She seemed to be so caught up in the tranquil familiarity of the village and the absence of the plaguing thoughts that involved Naruto that she didn't notice the person in front of her who she bumped into. Hitting the ground, Hinata said, "Owch! I'm s… sorry for bumping into you…"

"Hinata?" Looking up to see who it was she had collided with, she was surprised to see the pink haired kunoichi, Sakura, looking down at her with just as much surprise on her own face.

"S… Sakura-chan?"

----------

"I just don't get it Iruka- sensei. Was I wrong to treat her like that?" Naruto was at one of the only places that gave him any happiness anymore, the outdoor ramen restaurant, Ichiraku. Since he was in a pinch and needed some wise male assistance, he decided that his old academy teacher was just the person he needed to see. Iruka swallowed some of the ramen he was eating and looked at Naruto thoughtfully.

"Well… not the way we see things. But think of it from Hinata's point of view. The guy she likes doesn't like her back even though she opened up her heart to him and on top of that he's just hanging out with her to be nice. She must be embarrassed." Naruto's eye brows rose in surprise. Apparently he had decided to talk to the right guy. Iruka sounded like he knew what he was talking about. But the last time he checked, Naruto was sure Iruka wasn't spoken for. Maybe he got his knowledge about girls from the same books Kakashi read from?

"…Hrm…," Naruto mumbled thoughtfully and he ate some of his own ramen.

"Yes. It's troublesome really."

"S… Shikamaru!" The phlegmatic shinobi simply looked at Naruto with his stoic stare before taking a seat beside him.

"I heard you were having girl trouble."

"News sure does travel fast around here…" Shikamaru waved away Naruto's comment knowing that it wasn't so much that everyone was gossiping about a possible romance between Uzumaki and the Hyuuga as much as everyone was gossiping about Nartuo's suddenly poor performance because of Hinata's abrupt absence from his life and the why to it.

"If you want my opinion I'll tell you. Apologize to her and take her suggestion of just being friends."

"Apologize!? Even if I wasn't meaning to be offensive?"

"Trust me. The other sex is a very troublesome sort that likes to haggle about unnecessary things. Just be smart and say sorry before you drag this on needlessly. It's not worth the headache." Naruto looked at his friend and then at Iruka who nodded in agreement. He sighed and then finished off his ramen before getting up to face his destiny. Iruka and Shikamaru watched him leave.

"Ah… maturity."

----------

"You've been teamed up with Naruto for a while right Sakura-chan? Ummm…"

"Yes?" Hinata couldn't bring herself to ask Haruno for advice. It was just too strange because she once considered her a rival for Naruto's affection. It was a little aggravating to know that she had to turn to her rival for advice about the boy she claimed to like. Sakura was intuitive and seemed to sense what was on Hinata's mind without her having to say anything.

"He's a little dumb."

"Wha… what?"

"Naruto. He's a little dumb so sometimes he isn't aware of how his words or actions will affect other people. But then again… I guess that's why he's so infectious... He really gets to you and even if you've hated him before you'll learn to love him eventually. That's just how he is. And if he's hurt you in some kind of way, it would go against his nature to just let things stay like that especially if you're someone he cares about. So… I think you should talk with him Hinata and listen to what he has to say to you." The two girls looked at each other and Sakura offered Hinata a sweet, reassuring smile. Hinata smiled too and nodded.

"Yes. Thank you Sakura-chan."

After her talk with Sakura, Hinata headed home. She was thinking about how to get in touch with Naruto but she needn't have bothered worrying about it because Neji informed her that Naruto stopped by and left her a message. The message was to meet him at the usual place, which was the monument of the Hokages. Hinata hurried there.

The feeling in her heart was overwhelming and when she reached the designated location, she felt like her feelings would suffocate her. They were a collection of happiness, anxiety, and curiosity. She caught her breath and tried to regain her composure but when she saw Naruto smile at her she felt like jelly. She had to grab the nearby handrail for support.

"Hey Hinata."

"N… Naruto-kun," she acknowledged, "You wanted to meet me here?"

"Yeah. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I said and what you said and well… I just wanted to apologize if I embarrassed you or anything. The truth is I never intended to hurt you that way Hinata. I really did like hanging out with you! A lot! And I really appreciate the feelings that you have for me." Hinata felt like her heart was going to fly out of her chest and land right smack into Naruto's awaiting hand because with each word he spoke she felt herself fall even more in love with him than she already was. She couldn't say anything because she felt all of the sudden too choked up for words. Naruto watched her and was unaware of the things going on inside her. Sighing he put both of his hands on each of her shoulders and turned her around to face him. A blush stained her pale cheeks and she looked into his eyes with her own. Naruto unwillingly admitted to himself that he missed looking at those haunting eyes.

"…I'd really like to hang out again if it's no trouble to you Hinata. It's been kinda boring without you around." He forgot to say that his world was turned upside down in her absence and he felt like a rotten criminal for making her cry but both were unnecessary details that she could do without. Hinata trembled a little and Naruto felt it. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her in a lose embrace. Hinata blinked in shock at their sudden close proximity and then she felt her knees lock together in her nervousness. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. Naruto just tightened his own grip on her to help support her. Any bystander might have accidentally mistaken their embrace for a hug.

"N… Naruto-kun… Since you know what to say at the right time, I'd love to go on another date sometime!" She thought that sneaking in the word "date" might allow her to secretly know exactly where they stood and was surprised when he simply smiled at her.

"Y… Yeah?" Her heart nearly exploded and she laid her head on his chest. Naruto blushed but didn't move. Instead, he held her tighter.

"Yes! And… Thank-you Naruto-kun…"

"You're welcome. And just Naruto is fine."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Peace is not easily afforded**_

"Naruto, despite all your training for this kind of opportunity, I cannot- rather **will** not allow you to throw yourself into the enemy's awaiting hands! You can't be apart of this operation!"

"But Tsunade-baachan…!"

"Case closed Naruto! I refuse to argue about this! Shizune get him outta here!"

"Sorry Naruto-kun…" Before the short haired medic nin could escort Naruto from the Hokage's office by force, Naruto shrugged her away. And with one last angry glare at the Godaime, the boy left of his own freewill.

As he descended the stairs of the Hokage's HQ, he saw a team of assembled ANBU shinobi separate and dispatch themselves at designated stations around Konoha. He followed one to the entrance with his eyes and saw his team along with some of the other teams also gathered around the gate. They were preparing for possibly one of the biggest missions of their careers. After a brief conversation, Sakura and Kakashi exchanged determined looks and with a simple nod of the head between the jounin, the teams were gone. Naruto's fist shook as anger and frustration coursed through his body. He should be with them! He should be fighting too! And the thought of not being able to was tearing him up inside.

Akatsuki. Sasuke. They were on the move. Jiraiya had revealed some newly received information in regards to the last bijuu, the eight tails. Apparently, it had been captured and extracted from its jinchuuriki. Now it was getting serious. Naruto was the last one. He was the last obstacle standing between the group of demented ninja and their goals, which were still unknown. It wasn't known exactly when Akatsuki was going to attack, but Tsunade and the village council weren't going to take any chances. After the Third's assassination, the village's defenses were upped tenfold and since Naruto was the target, he was forbidden to join the fight. He was to be protected instead and his friends, his team, were sent to do battle in his steed. Naruto didn't know whether to be touched or embarrassed by it. He settled for being pissed as hell.

----------

Hinata was at her home also preparing for battle. She had gathered her equipment, kunais and shurikens, and was practicing in her yard alone. Neji had been called to duty; her father had decided to help protect the village as well as other members of her family. Hinata and her sister were left to be guarded in case something went wrong. And as a precaution the girl made sure she was in tip top fighting condition. After all, the ninjas in Akatsuki were said to be anything but pushovers and she believed it. It couldn't be easily forgotten how one of the members defeated Asuma, killing him in cold blood. Asuma wasn't a pushover himself and for him to be defeated so easily… well, it left Hinata with a bad taste in her mouth and queasy feeling in her stomach.

And she was scared. So scared. These fearsome people were after Naruto? Enemies this powerful were actually in pursuit of her dearest friend? Or at least, the creature that he housed. When she first found out that Naruto was the vessel for the nine tails demon fox, she was shocked. He was after all very far from being demonic. Though, he was an unnaturally mad powerhouse and she at least understood why that was now. Naruto had been worried about her finding out; about being seen as a monster again, but he needn't have because the truth was that Hinata loved him for who he was, Uzumaki Naruto, and if the demon fox was apart of him then she would accept that piece as well. Anyway, she still believed that his strength really derived from who he was as a person and his strong will so she wasn't intimidated by the nefarious creature.

Tired and bored from hurling kunais at an unmoving target, Hinata took a seat on a stone slab and sighed. To think, everything had been so peaceful no longer than 24 hours ago. She and Naruto were training and hanging out like usual when the warning had been issued. That was when the whole world seemed to go to hell as Konoha put up its defenses and prepared for what seemed like war. It was a little unnerving… the way peace could crumble so quickly, so easily. As a shinobi, she wasn't supposed to acquaint herself with peace, but ever since that fateful day when she uttered the inner musings of her heart, Hinata found that she was associated with a lot of the things that other ninjas took for granted, the things that ninjas shouldn't be aware of, the things her father and earlier generations were deprived of. And she felt guilty for it. The heiress couldn't help but wonder and hope that maybe this battle could determine how shinobi lived from now on. She hoped that it would be in peace. But such was wishful thinking, always making the purest wishes seem in easy reach. Of course real peace could never be obtained through opposite and darker means.

Distracted by her thoughts, Hinata wasn't prepared for this one rare moment of bliss to be shattered by her fuming blonde haired friend. Naruto came unannounced and interrupted her train of thought when he flipped into her yard. He was breathing heavily and Hinata noticed right away that something was awry in him. Naruto had come for condolence. She was his only friend who was left behind as well and he knew that he could find comfort from her. He started pacing in front of her, uncertain about how to begin and she was slightly bemused by his behavior. She'd never seen him so angry before without being in a fight.

"I don't get it! What good was all that training if I'm just gonna be sitting around??" He snapped. He punched a nearby tree trunk in his anger and Hinata flinched a little from his sudden outburst. So that was the problem. He was angry because he'd been left behind. Hinata tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and thought about how to approach him. Naruto's temper was a delicate thing and saying the wrong thing would just escalate his foul mood. She didn't really understand why he was angry because his being protected was for his benefit, but telling him that and getting him to understand was going to prove to be a challenge.

"Naruto … I really think the training was more of a precaution in case you ever found yourself in a situation where you would have to defend yourself. I doubt Hokage-sama would create such a scenario…" Hinata offered feebly. When she saw Naruto's face twist up into an even angrier scowl she said, "I know you really want to show off your new jutsu but let's hope you won't have to… I mean… are you that eager to… die?" The last part of the sentence almost caught in her throat but she said it anyway in order to get her point across. She watched him seriously and the heated young man snorted. His expression changed to one that was full of disbelief.

"… You don't believe I have enough skill to protect my own life Hinata?" His voice held a strange quality to it, one that she'd never heard him use before. It reminded her of the silence before a tsunami struck. Somehow she guessed that her words hurt him more than Tsunade's refusal to let him protect the village. She looked at her hands to avoid his strong gaze and she trembled. She was only trying to help but apparently she had approached the conversation the wrong way. Now he was even more furious than before.

"Do you know how long and rigorous my training was??" He yelled. Hinata could only sigh heavily in exasperation. It wasn't that she had purposely tried to minimize his hard work. On the contrary, she was trying to explain to him why he had to work hard at all. But he couldn't grasp the concept of her trying to help him understand how important it was for him to stay safe because he was still bent out of shape since he couldn't get in the fight. It was the moments like these that made her wonder if he possessed any kind of smarts and she could feel her own anger work to a boil as her irritation grew.

"Naruto! Stop being such a child! Of course I know! I was there to hold you up so Sakura-chan could heal you properly! But Naruto try to understand that this isn't just about you!" The Hyuuga was surprised by the malice that was emitting from her voice that was created by her boiling temper. Naurto seemed taken aback by her retort but even still he remained stubborn and combative. He crossed his arms defiantly and smirked at her sadistically.

"Funny you should say so. Last I checked the Akatsuki wanted the kyuubi inside of **me**!" He said sarcastically. Hinata glared at him and growled a little in her throat.

"And the only reason that's so is because you're a jinchuuriki!" She cried. Her eyes burned as tears began to fill them and Naruto felt something pull at his insides. Rather than chewing her head off anymore for not taking his side on the matter, he settled for remaining quiet lest he caused her to cry again. He couldn't deal with guilt **and** anger.

Noticing that he hadn't interrupted her by making another snide remark, Hinata continued her nearly futile explanation.

"Naruto, you were chosen to house the demon fox to protect us… and in return we rewarded you with loneliness, pain and anger," she started, her voice having returned to its usual calm, and quiet tone, " But…now that it's different… now that we all know you… now that you're the one that needs protecting… let **us** do it!" Hinata started crying despite her desperate attempts not to but it was just as well because now Naruto had tossed his anger aside completely and listened intently to her every word. He seemed to be grasping the idea now. Hinata sniffled a little and continued her verbose explanation.

"Please? Don't… do anything rash and don't wish for anything rash! I… I… Not when you mean so much to me!" After her passionate outburst the two teenage shinobi looked at one other. She looked at him with sad, pleading, desperate eyes and he in turned looked at her incredulously at first before softening his expression to one of understanding. Silence spread between then like a finely woven blanket and neither one did anything to unravel it. Hinata wiped at her eyes zealously, seeming as though she was in shock about saying what she had. Naruto watched her for a moment longer before he went over to her. He knelt down in front of her, slowly cupping one of her cheeks in one of his large, masculine hands. He placed his other hand on top of hers, which were balled up near her eyes as she had used them to wipe her tears. Slowly he pulled them away from her face and settled them in her lap, never once removing his hand. It was an intimate act and the way he was looking at her was so tender and caring that Hinata's heart skipped a few beats when she looked at him. He'd never looked at her that way before.

In all honesty, Hinata hadn't meant to say what she said. She had been inflamed with passion from her explanation that the ending sort of just slipped out. Confessing her feelings for him again, after being denied so many times before, was the last thing the white eyed girl wanted to do. It was too painful. And she was trying to emphasize the importance of him staying, not the importance of her feelings. Besides, there was enough for both of them to worry about besides more of an issue that had already been settled. Blushing, she looked away from him.

"…I mean… Konoha…," she offered instead. Nice save! For a minute, Naruto didn't say anything and then he stood up. Hinata hesitantly looked at him again and saw that he had a determined look on his face and was looking into a far distance.

"…You guys mean a lot to me too… Hinata if it's really what you need… then… I'll stay put. But! If worse comes to worse I won't hesitate to fight! I don't care how dangerous it is!" Hinata smiled for the first time since he arrived.

"Th…thank you so much Naruto …"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: The Cost of Battle**_

"…_now that you're the one that needs protecting… let __**us**__ do it!"_

Yeah. Right. It was easier said than done. The war was already beginning as some of the teams Tsunade had sent out came in contact with members of Akatsuki. The Leaf shinobi were fighting hard to ensure the safety of the village and in particular, the safety of an Uzumaki Naruto, by preventing the Akatsuki from entering and completing its goals. That was them.

Hinata and Naruto weren't doing anything but relishing the safety net that Tsunade had created as well one another's company. They were the only two from their graduating year that weren't in the battle. They refused to be completely useless however. They decided to help get the children and elderly to safer places, following the new protocols for emergencies that had been in place since the Third's death. Even though the Akatsuki hadn't infiltrated the village, it was still crucial for everyone to take the proper precautions. Their task wasn't as noble as risking one's life to defend the lives of one's fellow villagers, but it was better than nothing.

Hinata wasn't complaining about the lot that life had given her at the moment, it was okay to be useless with her friend, but when they received news of the first causality, she started thinking differently. It was a member of her family, a cousin that was barely older than she or Naruto was. Naruto had helped her cousin before and he was all too willing to fight on his behalf. His sacrifice was greatly admired and he was honored, but his death weighed heavily on Naruto's conscious. It was more than he could bare and he tried to leave to help fight and stop others from dying but Tsunade had him forcefully restrained. Hinata had watched him through it all as she had done throughout their whole childhood. She watched him as he cried mournfully for the lost life and fought against his restraints bitterly. And like always, his actions touched her heart.

There was once a time when no one would think twice about dying for Naruto and he in turn could've cared less if they lived or not. It was truly inspiring to see that things had changed so dramatically. But it reminded Hinata about how utterly useless she still was. What could she do for Naruto now to ease his pain? The answer to that came knocking on her door on the third day of the fighting.

Hinata hurried to the front door and gasped in surprise when she saw an ANBU officer standing in her doorway.

"Hyuuga Hinata?" The ninja asked in a muffled voice due to the mask that covered his face. Hinata nodded slowly in confirmation.

"Y…yes?" She asked. Her heart was pounding against her chest harshly. She was worried that something had happened to her father or even Naruto and the ANBU had come to inform her of the tragedy. She grasped her heart and braced herself for whatever news the shinobi had come to deliver. If it weren't for the mask, she would have seen the man looking at the hand over her heart in disdain.

"Hokage-sama requested you accompany us on an 'S' rank mission of the utmost importance. It is crucial we have someone of your advanced bloodline with us for success of the mission." It was then that Hinata noticed the other two ANBU standing behind the one she was talking to. Something seemed awfully fishy to her, but the feeling of pride for being needed filled her, snuffing out her worry. She stood straighter and placed both her hands at her sides.

"Y…you didn't try seeking Neji?" She wanted to make sure that it was her that they needed. And her alone.

"He's out on a mission of his own," the man responded.

"But you would rather have him instead right?"

"Hyuuga-san, if it's of any consequence, Hokage-sama requested you specifically because the mission is important in protecting the life of Uzumaki-san." That was all she needed to hear.

"Naruto…"

----------

Three days later…

"Stop him! Don't let him get away!" The kyuubi jinchuuriki expertly dodged and maneuvered around his opposition. He was an orange blur of motion as he headed for the Hokage's office. Nothing was going to stop him.

After he defeated all the people trying to hinder him, he rushed to the double doors and pushed them open none to gently. Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at the red faced Naruto in surprise and slight disbelief.

"Naruto…," Tsunade said wearily. He growled a little and didn't try to keep his cool to be respectable to the Leaf Village's greatest kunoichi. He stepped forward angrily and slammed a fist down on her desk causing the tons upon tons of loose papers that littered the desk's wooden surface to jump. Tsunade placed a hand on her pile and glared at the boy angrily.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Where is she? Where's the team you sent on a 'S' rank mission that had Hinata in it?" Both Sannins' eyes widened and they exchanged looks. Naruto felt himself grow even more impatient by the minute.

"Naruto… how'd you even know about…?"

"Naruto, for now your top priority should be your own safety. Leave Hinata's to us," Tsunade said sternly, interrupting Jiraiya's question. She knew it was bound to happen. Naruto was bound to notice his missing teammate since she had been one of the only ones left with him in the village. She was surprised that it had taken him this long to confront her about it.

"No! I don't want to hear that!" He yelled, "Especially when my safety was Hinata's main priority! I know why she took such a dangerous mission and I'll be damned if I'm the reason she gets hurt! Now where is she?" There was silence as the Godaime Hokage thought about how to respond.

She didn't know how Naruto ended up finding out about the details of the assignment, unless he didn't know at all and was just bluffing to get the details out of her, or there was the possibility that he had pounded the crap out of valuable manpower to get his information. But one thing she did know was that he was not about to let it go. But since when did he ever? He was Naruto after all and it was so difficult trying to protect him.

"…Tsunade, just tell him. If he knows this much already then he'll find this answer too regardless. Make it easy and just tell him," the toad sage offered. Naruto looked at him and then looked at the Hokage.

"Tsunade-baachan!" His eyes were so desperate and pleading. As she stared into those eyes, she found herself wondering when he'd gotten so fond of the Hyuuga girl, and just how fond of her he'd gotten. Sighing, Tsunade relaxed and sat back in her chair.

"…Fine. But first, I'll tell you that a rescue team has been dispatched to locate Hinata's team and are required to bring them back so even if I tell you, you can't go to her Naruto." It wasn't a deal that the boy was easily willing to agree to since he had come to get the information so he could go save her himself. But feeling like a time limit was ticking down the minutes against Hinata's safe return, he nodded. If it was bad enough that a rescue team had to be dispatched, Naruto wanted to hurry up and get the details.

----------

He disobeyed the Hokage's orders. He disobeyed the council's wishes. He forsook the reason his friends and fellow leaf ninjas were risking their lives in battle. But he had to. He had a good reason to leave Konoha.

Apparently there was some information that Tsunade had failed to share with Naruto in regards to Akatsuki's true intentions. They weren't just after the bijuu, but they were after the advanced bloodlines too. Of course by the time Jiraiya had told this to Tsunade, she had already sent Hinata to go follow through on some leads they had about Akatsuki's activities. She wanted to use Hinata because her byagukan was perfect for infiltration and she felt guilty for depriving the girl of a chance to prove herself in the fight to protect Naruto's life. She hadn't realized that she had possibly sent the girl to her death.

Orochimaru's old role in Akatsuki was to create the perfect fighter. He conducted experiments and gathered research about the various advanced bloodlines in order merge all their unique abilities to make this perfect fighter. Many of his attempts failed and by the time he had reached a breakthrough he became power hungry himself and left. Using his successful research data, Akatsuki continued with the experiments. Tons of skillful shinobi blessed with the accursed bloodlines had fallen victim to Akatsuki's crude experiments. And if Naruto didn't hurry then Hinata would too.

"_**Why would they want to create a perfect fighter? Isn't the world headed toward peace? What would be the fighter's purpose?" Tsunade looked thoughtful for a second and then Jiraiya said, "That's what gathering the bijuu is for. Each time the bijuu were summoned war and chaos befell the world. If all nine bijuu are brought together at once then it isn't an exaggeration to say that Armageddon will come and the end of the world soon after it."**_

"_**But why go through all that trouble? It doesn't make sense!"**_

"_**We're not dealing with ninja whose ideals are supposed to make sense Naruto. These Akatsuki ninjas are exiles from different hidden villages because of their vile beliefs and cruelty. In order for them to exist in this world, wouldn't it have to be one filled with a chaos that they can relate to?" Tsunade explained calmly though disgust and hatred were clearly written on her face. Naruto didn't say anything.**_

"_**And to make sure that their ideal world is balanced, they have to have an opposing force strong enough to combat the bijuu, but that's assuming that the Akatsuki's skills aren't up to par. Don't worry. They won't get the Hyuuga clan's secrets Naruto. I swear to you on my honor as Hokage."**_

It was comforting to know that the old hag was passionate in her disposition but Naruto couldn't hang on the wing side quietly this time. It had just gotten personal because now he had to draw the line. It was one thing to bring him into it and then have his village fight a mini war about it but it was quite another to involve Hyuuga Hinata into this mess. He'd be damned if he let Hinata get twisted up in all their wickedness. He wasn't about to let it happen.

"_Just be alive when I get there Hinata… Please…Be alive…"_

----------

_**It was quiet. A little too quiet. Hinata wasn't sure about what was going or wasn't going on but she didn't like it. Tsunade had chosen her specifically for her byakugan ability but that alone wasn't going to be enough. Not here. Not even in the presence of ANBU.**_

_**They were at one the Akatsuki's hidden hideouts to secure evidence about some immoral experiments being conducted there. Tsunade referred to it as leverage in case some people found Konoha's fighting the Akatsuki to be unjustified. If what Hinata saw so far of their secret pastime wasn't reason enough to do away with them, then she wasn't sure what was.**_

_**It was a slow two days. But on the third day, something happened. One of the ANBU had taken off to see if they couldn't get some hard evidence to take back with them to Konoha, and when they hadn't returned in over two hours, the rest of the team decided to go help. They met up with their comrade but along with their unconscious teammate, they were met with a danger unlike any Hinata had known in her short fifteen years of life. It was a member of Akatsuki that she had never seen before. They had been briefed about all the members that were known up to this point but this was a face she didn't recognize, if it was a face at all. He was wearing a mask. A spiraling mask that made you dizzy the longer you stared at it. But that wasn't the strangest thing about this particular character. The strangest thing lied in the one visible eye he had. It looked like it possessed the Sharingan. **_

"_**Uchiha?" She directed the question more to herself than anyone else so she wasn't surprised when she didn't get an answer. She was surprised when he started attacking them without warning. **_

_**The ANBU were handling themselves pretty good and Hinata stood away from the fighting in order to assist their comrade. Only when she turned over his limp body, she was met with a gruesome sight. She wasn't able to hold in the food she had eaten earlier and threw up. All the while, her stomach turned as an auspicious feeling settled within it. Something happened and she felt like she was no longer in control of her body.**_

"_**Genjutsu!" The realization came too late, for she was now in death's grasps.**_

----------

The site was horrific. It was a barren wasteland in the middle of the forest. Naruto stood in awe but then shook it off and started searching for his friend. She had to be close by because the area was battle ravaged. When he saw a small body in the middle of the dry sand, he hurried to it. He felt himself breathe a sigh of relief when he made out Hinata's familiar features. Bending down, he gathered her into his lap and inspected her. She was like a limp rag doll. Her face was peaceful and her eyes were shut tight. Naruto touched her cheek and gasped. She was as cold as ice.

"Hinata! Hinata don't be dead!" He cried. He shook her a little, but she remained immobile and unresponsive. A feeling of despair filled him and he held her close, cradling her head on his shoulder and holding her body tightly against his own. He shook her a little more, willing her to open her eyes, but she didn't. Had he been too late?

"She won't wake up. And even if she did she probably wouldn't be the person you once knew." Naruto's head snapped up in the direction of the voice. His eyes widened at the tall young adult that stood before him.

"S…Sasuke!" Naruto acknowledged. Sasuke looked at his former friend stoically. It was like he hadn't recognized his existence. At first Naruto was happy to see him, but then he realized that Sasuke had expressed that he knew a lot about Hinata's condition so Naruto became cautious. He drew a kunai and held it threateningly while still holding onto to Hinata's cold, lifeless body.

"If you had anything to do with this…!" His unfinished threat caused Sasuke to look at him with amusement shining in his eye.

"Kind of out of character for you isn't it? What? You aren't going to threaten to take me back with you?" He sounded like he was mocking all of Naruto's earlier attempts, failures that they were, to bring him back. It made Naruto's blood boil.

"Tch! As if you cared! But really I will… especially if you had anything to do with this!"

"Stop wasting your breath. Someone this weak isn't worth my time anyway. I only intend to kill my brother who you may have to thank for this…" Naruto's hateful glare softened into curiosity.

"What?"

"The Akatsuki are on the move. I've been monitoring them."

"…You know what they're up to? … Did you see them do this to Hinata?? Why didn't you stop them??" The onyx eyes twinkled listlessly and he turned his back on the curious loud mouth.

"She's not my problem. But thanks to her I've got new information. If she ever wakes up, give her my thanks." With that said, Sasuke took his leave and vanished similarly to the first time they had been reunited. Naruto gasped and got up to try and catch him before he disappeared completely. He reached out into the smoke only to grab onto nothingness. The feeling of hopelessness consumed him and he fell to the ground.

"Wait! Sasuke! Tell me what you know!" He received no answer. Sasuke was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: The things I want to Say**_

_Did you really care that much to risk your own life to ensure my safety? Hinata do you…like me that much?_

The rescue team ended up coming and provided protection for both Naruto and Hinata as they returned to the village. The fight was still going but Naruto didn't really care. He held Hinata and watched her sleep. He hoped she was sleeping at least. It would be too painful to think about her never waking up again. Everyone watched as he carried her to the hospital. He had to be the one to carry her because he wouldn't let anyone else get near. He was almost reluctant to hand her over to the medical team but he did, trusting that they could save her. Wanting desperately for them to succeed in saving her life.

Tsunade was there to give him a talking down to, but changed her mind when she saw the state of desolation that he was in. She decided that seeing Hinata like that and feeling the way he was feeling was punishment enough. So, they were silent waiting for word about her condition. While he waited, Naruto tried to think positively by remembering all the good times they had together; the times that seemed so long ago now...

Hinata was shy. He knew that but he wanted to get her out of that shell so he had her play a game with him. It was like truth or dare only much more intense. For every outrageous thing she had Naruto do, he had her do something even more outrageous. And each time she accomplished whatever crude thing he had her do, he saw a little bit of the shell falling apart. That was when he noticed that he really admired her. And he only admired people he considered good fighters. She was far from it but she could hold her own in a fight. She'd displayed this on many occasions and when they had sparred together Naruto learned not to take her so lightly.

There were a lot of things that he learned about her in the short time that they had gotten close. He knew there was still a lot more to learn about her too. He couldn't fathom the way she had become the center of his attention since he had barely known she existed when they were children. He supposed she left a big impression on him that day she told him that she liked him. It was a gutsy move. No ninja ever admitted stuff like that. And no girl had ever told him something like that before. But Hinata wasn't an ordinary ninja anyway. She was a gentle soul and Naruto hoped she'd never change.

He was trembling. The light above the emergency room was still red. It was too much. He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her smile at him again and tell him that everything would be alright.

_How could you be so reckless!? Did you ever think about me?? What if I like you too much to see you go??_

He must have fallen asleep because he dreamed that Hinata was awake and lying up in her bed smiling at him happily. The light was still red. What was going on in that room? And more importantly, why was he acting this way? He had to get a grip on himself! It was no time to feel pitiful and scared! He needed to be strong! He needed to have faith. She **would** pull through! He knew she would! She was strong.

Finally, after five hours of waiting, the light turned green and Naruto was allowed to see her.

They said there was no change. They spent five hours on her and had Naruto waiting in agony to know if she was alright for nothing. They said she had suffered heavy psychological damage and her brain was on the verge of shutting down. They believed that it was a strong genjutsu that caused the damage to her brain.

Will she ever wake up? There was no answer. There wasn't even a hopeful smile.

Naruto sat by her bedside. They knew she was alive at least because she still had a pulse and the monitor on her brain suggested that it was still functioning because the flashing parts suggested dreaming. Naruto didn't care about the flashing monitor. He wanted to see her eyes again. They were brighter than any light.

_Hinata! Open your eyes! Please… I… I want… I want you back…_

His wishes were not answered and she continued to sleep peacefully. He took her hand into his own and squeezed it. He never felt so helpless before; so useless. It was all his fault! She went because she thought it would help him. She wasn't scared for her own life, not if she was doing something to help him. Her own life didn't matter when she was putting it on the line to protect the boy she liked. A tear fell from his eye and onto her face. He had bent forward now, studying her unmoving face. It was so peaceful. She had no idea of the toil he was going through seeing her that way. He put his forehead against hers and cried.

_I want to hear you say it again! I wanna tell you that I…_

It was messed up that out of all the fights he'd been in, out of all the gore and lurid things he'd seen, seeing Hinata this way was the worst thing ever. And he failed to understand why. Actually… he knew why. But what difference would that make now? His feelings were of no consequence. They couldn't undo whatever horror had befallen her. He brought her hand to his face and he held it there, savoring her touch. He knew of a way to help her. It wasn't so impossible. How could it be? She risked her life to save his, now he was going to return the favor because, to him… Hinata was… Hinata was…

_I… I like you too! Please let me know that it's not too late for me to save you… Hinata…_

His most important person. She was the girl he liked.

----------

"Naruto, do you know what you're suggesting?" Tsunade's voice was stern, but at the same time it was coated in a barely detectable layer of unease. Naruto simply nodded his head in response. They were in the waiting room again, Naruto having had his fill of seeing his comatose friend. There was something different about him, she noticed. He was suffering inside because of what had happened to Hinata but at the same time he was brimming with purpose; determination. Tsunade wasn't exactly certain about his mental state and after his suggestion, she wondered if she should put him in one of the physcho wards.

"I'm suggesting that we save Hinata."

"But do you know at what cost?" She needed him to understand how dangerous it was. She had to deter his ambitions because nothing good could possibly become of them. But of course, Naruto didn't stop to really think about what consequences could result from his decision and he grew frustrated with Tsunade's questioning.

"I know Tsunade-baachan! But if we can manipulate the powers of the demon fox before Akatsuki can get its grimy hands on it, I think it's worth a shot! Besides, Hinata's part of this village too!" There was simply no reasoning with him when his mind was made up about something. The blonde haired Hokage simply looked at the sixteen year old before her, feeling that familiar feeling she got whenever Naruto's passion rubbed off on her. It was infuriating how manipulative the boy was. Now she was having second thoughts. Maybe they could pull it off, destroy Akatsuki, and save the Hidden Leaf Village while they were at it. That's if they could pull it off. Sighing she stepped off the wall she was leaning against and motioned for him to follow her.

"I'll try my best Naruto, but I can't make any promises. The seal on that fox is strong and not only that but your chakras have slowly been connecting to one another. He's becoming apart of you." The boy didn't seem to like that revelation. He stopped walking abruptly and thought about what he was walking into. Tsunade watched him, a little miffed that he'd want to have second thoughts now that she had agreed. To help him better decide, she put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly and he looked at her. They were eye length now, he'd grown that much. He'd barely reached her waist when she first met him. It was wonderful, being able to watch him grow. He'd become the little brother she'd lost, the child she never had, someone close to her and she felt suddenly protective of him. He still had a lot more growing to do.

"I'll try my best Naruto."

----------

There was no mistaking it. That person just now, it had to be **him**. Sakura jumped from tree branch to tree branch in pursuit of the boy she thought she'd never see again. He was in the company of three other people, but she wasn't worried about them. She was only focused on her main objective.

"Sasuke, someone's tailing us!" Karin exclaimed. The red head kunoichi straightened her glasses and glanced at the man beside her, careful not to lose her rhythm as she commuted from limb to limb on the treetop highway. Sasuke seemed unperturbed by the news and he didn't even speed up. He had known for a while that they were being followed. She had been following them since he had left the site of destruction where he had seen Hinata and Naruto. He had wanted to remain discreet and unseen by the Leaf ninja that were out and about battling those damned Akatsuki but apparently he had failed. Sakura had seen and recognized him all too easily.

"So what do you want us to do?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke almost didn't answer, but changed his mind and said, "Nothing. You guys go on ahead. I'll take care of this." The other three shinobi exchanged looks before going on ahead. Sasuke fell back and let himself fall gracefully to the ground below the trees where he stopped, waiting for the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura stopped when she saw that Sasuke disappeared. She didn't try to pursue the other three and jumped down, ricocheting off of tree trunks in her descent. The female ninja barely had time to gain her bearings when Sasuke attacked. Her emerald eyes caught sight of the fast approaching katana, electrical currents of chakra flowing through it, and just dodged it. A strand of her hair was clipped and blew away at the mercy of the wind. Sakura drew a kunai and assumed her battle stance. Sasuke straightened up and glared at her coldly, stopping the chakra flow in his blade. Neither moved.

"Hmph," he grunted, clearly agitated that she had dodged his attack. Sakura secretly wondered if he'd held back on her account because he had her right where he wanted; he had the advantage, and it wasn't just dumb luck or quick thinking alone that she had to thank for standing there now.

"… Is sparing my life gonna be on a whim Sasuke?" She asked, remembering what he had told Naruto the time they saw each other a year ago. His onyx eyes didn't move from her face, and no signs of humor were apparent in his expression.

"Who said I'm sparing your life? Every time I do, you always come back to bother me later. I'll really severe these bonds now." He took his stance and his eyes turned to the familiar crimson as he activated his Sharingan. At least he took her seriously enough to use his clan's special ability, but then again, maybe he'd become so strong that it wasn't a big deal that he'd decided to use it. She felt suddenly very angry at him and clenched her small knife furiously.

"And then go kill your brother right? So you can get your revenge," she said in mock interest. It was becoming a redundant thing with him and it annoyed her. Sasuke merely smirked as if finding her anger humorous. His smirk, the one she had found sexy as hell as a girl, suddenly irked her. Growling, she threw her kunai at him. He deflected it with a flick of the finger. When he looked up, Sakura was upon him, face furious and fist clenched. He jumped back and watched in interest when her small fist created a large crater in the place he'd been standing a mere second ago. The girl wasn't done. Recoiling from the sheer force of her own strength, she jumped off the ground and let the friction propel her towards Sasuke who knew what she was going to do before she even did it. He caught the leg she was going to use to kick him and threw her off balance. She fell and couldn't regain her senses before Sasuke's fist, emblazoned with electricity, slammed into her stomach. She gasped as the air evacuated her lungs and Sasuke smirked triumphantly until he saw her disappear in a puff of smoke and turn into a log.

"Get serious Sasuke!" He turned around and his face connected with her fist. Her strength sent him spiraling backward, but he caught himself before he slammed into the tree behind him, using the trunk as his footing. A wet substance leaked from his nose and he knew it was blood. He also felt his right eye throb painfully. Growling angrily, he looked and saw Sakura smiling at him, cracking her knuckles.

"Or you're going to end up getting hurt." _You fail to realize that you're being used by your own vengeance! What do you plan to do after you kill your brother? _The boy frowned angrily and raised his katana, pointing it at her. Then he jumped off the tree and flew towards her. She jumped out of the way, just what he'd been expecting. He grabbed the scruff of her collar as he past by and slammed her down on the ground none too gently. Sakura saw stars and barely had time to catch the blade of his sword before it pierced her. Her hands burned and she trembled as electric pulses coursed through her body. Sasuke's face didn't change and he pushed down harder, determined not to lose. Her hands started bleeding and the jolts of electricity were starting to take their toll on her nerves. In a last minute effort to save herself, she lifted her leg and kneed him hard in the groin. His face scrunched up comically for a moment as the searing pain between his legs rendered him immobile. He dropped his blade and fell to the ground holding his crotch. Sakura would have laughed if she wasn't still shaking violently from his chidori. Both breathed heavily and made no attempt at the other's life for a moment. _Sasuke you don't see it but…but… your greatest strength comes from the bonds you've made with us… with Konoha… because they give you a reason to live. They give you a reason to seek revenge. Don't you get it?? The bonds with your family were so strong that you couldn't forget them and in not forgetting you've been driven for vengeance._

"I… I thought I told you… to take this fight seriously Sasuke! What's wrong with you? Aren't I supposed to be dead by now??" She cried. She stretched her leg out and kicked at him angrily. He in turn grabbed her foot, glaring at her angrily.

"If you're so eager to die then I'll happily give you what you want! This fight is over…" Sakura had no control over her body any more. Her nerves were shot. Sasuke tossed her leg aside and shakingly got up. He limped over to her and hovered above her menacingly as he pointed his katana at her heart. Death was in his eyes.

"It's you that should have taken this fight seriously. Good-bye Sakura." She couldn't fight anymore. She didn't want to fight anymore. This was what she'd been waiting for. This was the decisive moment. Her messy fighting was just a delay to the inevitable conclusion. She was no match for him and they both knew it. His eyes were murderous as he brought his sword down. Memories of the days before, when he protected her on missions, when she healed his wounds, when she loved him, when he was her comrade flashed through her mind and brought tears to her eyes. _And even if you try to deny it, I see now that severing your bonds with us is just a way to protect them. After leaving Konoha, after getting revenge… there'd be nothing left. There'd be no point in seeking strength or living because you expect us to forget you and go on. To save yourself from that pain, you push us away! I see this. I understand this now._ She couldn't feel the sword but at the same time she knew it had pierced straight through her flesh and her heart. It hadn't hurt as much as she thought it would, but then again, she couldn't feel anything on account that her nerves no longer worked. For that she was thankful and if she hadn't known better she would've guessed that he'd done that as a last act of kindness. Blood spilled from her opened wound when he removed his sword and she coughed up some of the red liquid from her mouth as it flooded her chest cavity and lungs. Sasuke watched her dying without as much as a blink. She smiled. Despite his equanimity, he was no doubt hurting more on the inside than she was hurting now. He was such a tormented youth, and even now, as he murdered her, she empathized with him, loved him.

"S… Sasuke…," she stuttered. Breathing was hard enough and yet she had to say it. She had to let him know.

"We won't leave you!" she screamed, the action burning her chest, "We won't! After you've killed your brother… after you're left with nothing… count on me being there to help you pick up your broken pieces! I'll be there… I'm here now… Sasuke…" She didn't have the chance to see his eyes light up with life once again at her words because her world became nothing but darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: True Intentions Revealed**_

"Am… I… dead?" Her voice echoed and carried through the air of nothingness that surrounded her. Her pure white surrounding felt ominous and left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. If she was dead, then it was a very bleak and depressing after life. Where was everyone else?

"N…Naruto? Naruto! Hey! Where are you!? Can you hear me!?" Again, her voice echoed in the blank space but she got no response. Was she truly dead? Was she truly going to spend an eternity without him? Tears filled her eyes.

"Naruto… No… I want to see you… I want to see you again…," she mumbled. Then she stopped crying as an idea came to her. She **could** see him! All she had to do was look.

"Byakugan!" She focused on the whiteness in front of her and was a little startled when nothing happened.

"Byakugan!" She yelled again. Nothing happened.

"You can't use your byakugan and you aren't dead." The distressed girl spun around quickly to find the owner of the voice. She hadn't been aware of another presence with her. A shadowy figure stood a few feet away from her emitting an aura of mystery. Hinata took an unconscious step back from it.

"Who are you? And where is this exactly?" Her voice hadn't come out with the hard edge that she wanted it to and it quaked a little. The shadowy figure moved towards her.

"I am a god," the apparition claimed, "And this is your mind."

"A… god?" She repeated wearily, "My mind? What do you mean?" By now the ghostlike entity was upon her and looking her in the face. She gasped a little when she made out the one visible eye.

"You!" She screeched, and when she tried to get away from him, he grabbed her throat roughly. She was more surprised at the fact that he could grab her than the sudden threat he had revealed himself to be. Lifting her up off of whatever it was she had been standing on, he chuckled at her and said, "Yes. It is me, Uchiha Madara!" Hinata's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What?? But… you're… you're…"

"Dead? Dear, sweet, naïve Hyuuga, death is but a door to another world. And for a god, such as me, this door is nothing!"

"But… what…? Why? Why are you doing this? Weren't you apart of the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"'Was' is the past tense. Now, I am a being that surpasses the restraints of the conscious mind. No longer do I owe homage to one village. But the whole world owes homage to me!!" His grip around her neck tightened and she sucked in a breath and pressed her eyes closed. The founder of the Uchiha clan laughed wickedly at her expense.

"And my dear girl, you are going to help me in my goals of helping the world realize I am its true master."

----------

When Sakura woke up, she was surprised to see sunlight. Grunting and shielding her eyes from the blinding light, she sat up and felt a warm blanket fall off of her. Warm blanket? She opened her sleepy eyes wider and focused her groggy vision until she could make out the small room she was in. She was still alive? But she had been so certain… She looked down at her chest and gasped when she didn't see the wound created by Sasuke's katana. Had it all been a bad dream?

"Genjutsu," a deep male voice said as though he'd read her mind and was answering her question. Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke leaning casually against the doorframe of the small shack house she had been given refuge in. Blinking in confusion, she said, "S…Sasuke-kun…?" She wasn't sure rather or not to ready herself for combat because she wasn't sure if he had appeared as a comrade or an enemy. She guessed it was most likely the later. The boy seemed not to notice as she reached for a shuriken in her pouch located on her hip. Her hand came in contact with nothing.

"Huh?"

"Looking for this?" Sakura stared dazedly at the Uchiha as he dangled her supply pouch from his index finger nonchalantly. Blushing Sakura asked, "Why do you have my things? What's going on?"

"Relax Sakura." Pushing himself off the wall easily, he walked over to her futon and kneeled down in front of her. He handed back her belonging which she took hesitantly. For a moment, nothing passed between them but air and Sakura couldn't look at him.

"… Genjutsu… that's what you used huh?" She questioned, breaking the spell of noiselessness that had been cast over the both of them. "But it seemed so real…"

"That's the difference in skill between you and me," he claimed matter-of-factly, "Why did you pursue me Sakura? You knew you didn't stand a chance." His voice was steady, but the look on his face defied his tone and revealed to her his inner workings. On his face was an expression of irritation. She recognized it as the one he constantly gave Naruto and sometimes herself when they failed to meet his standards. So something was bothering him.

"Why didn't you kill me like you said you would?" To this, Sasuke had no response. Neither spoke, having been caught by the throat by one another's inquiries. After a while, Sakura knew that it was useless to try and out stubborn him, he was, after all, the most stubborn guy she knew… after Naruto of course.

"It was my team's assignment to keep an eye out for you and bring you back to Konoha if we found you… That said, I was simply following orders." She hated how deadpan her voice sounded and how much she mimicked Sai, but it couldn't be helped. She couldn't allow her emotions to get the best of her and she didn't want to get her hopes up only to end up disappointed. Plus, she didn't want Sasuke to view her as a weakling for the way she felt about him (those feelings being the real reason she chased after him so zealously) so she faced the love of her life as emotionless as a dull blade. Sasuke watched her a little longer, his eyes boring deep into hers as though looking at her naked soul. He'd no doubt see what her outer appearance denied him; the truth. His eyes could always see. Sakura was the one to look away first.

"Now you answer my question," she mumbled. To her surprise, Sasuke simply stood up and walked away from her apparently denying her request. She watched him retreat and felt spite swell within her.

"How dare you!? Don't just ignore me!! Tell me why…"

"You… should take it easy, Sakura," he said, interrupting her outburst, "Be thankful for the extra time you've been given. Who knows when it will expire."

"Is that a threat?? Then kill me now!" Sasuke turned around to look at her passively before saying, "idiot" and leaving. Sakura sighed and slammed her fist on the floor. How frustrating. The kunoichi couldn't help but smile despite being angry at him though. It was intriguing to know that he hadn't had the guts to do away with her. Just as she had suspected, Sasuke really did need his friends contrary to what he said. Why couldn't he just admit it? Stretching, Sakura got up from the futon and followed Sasuke's exit.

----------

It was so warm, but it wasn't the good kind of warmth. It wasn't comforting like the warmth of a blanket during a chilly winter's night or a lover's comforting embrace after something bad had happened. This warmth left his soul feeling like it was burning. It was painful.

He gritted his teeth together as the pain seeped into every part of his body. He was going to endure it and save her. Even if it cost him his life.

"_What makes you think that once you have released me that I will save this girl or village? As soon as I'm free I will devour every single one of you and ravage the world I had too long been kept from… That is what I will do." _

"No you won't. Or else this is over here and now! Don't think that I won't put an end to this…"

"_Kukukuku… Maybe if you weren't so afraid of dying.You need me."_

"And **you** need **me**. So this one last time… please. Lend me your strength."

"…"

Tsunade watched Naruto's face as she held her hands over the seal on his stomach, emitting chakra from her palms. He was frowning and smirking as though he was having some kind of internal struggle. She wondered if she should continue with the release. If all went well, then Naruto would still exist, but if it failed… She didn't want to think about failing. That was not an option. Still, as she watched him, she couldn't help but doubt that the outcome of their antics was going to be anything pleasant.

"Don't lose Naruto… we need you…"

-----------

"What do… you mean… help you…?" Hinata asked through clenched teeth. Madara's hold on her throat only tightened as he laughed manically.

"Isn't it obvious? You… you are the kyuubi's weakness! Now that I have you it's only a matter of time before I get him too." Her eyes widened.

"You're… using me to… get to… Naruto?"

"Yes. And not only that, but now that I am in control of your mind, I have the Hyuuga clan's abilities to add to my growing list of special abilities. Soon I will be virtually invincible!"

"No…!"

"This is the end."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: Revelations **_

"I have come across valuable information when I encountered a member of Akatsuki some time ago." Sakura watched Sasuke as he briefed his comrades of his newest findings. His expression never changed and his voice was as dead pan as it could be. The jade eyed girl sat silently away from them but wasn't unnoticed. While Sasuke talked, Karin kept stealing glances at her, obviously disturbed by her presence.

"Karin, is there something wrong?" The red head blushed and returned her attention to Sasuke, straightening her glasses as she did so.

"N… no…" The Uchiha just watched her passively before continuing.

"As I was saying… He informed me of Akatsuki's true purpose."

"But wait a minute Sasuke! I thought you didn't care about all that! I thought you just wanted to kill Itachi!" Suigetsu's outburst didn't faze Sasuke in the least and he simply looked at the Hidden Mist reject uncaringly.

"That was the original plan; however, more complications have arisen," he paused for a dramatic effect before continuing, "Apparently the person in charge of Akatsuki is… Uchiha Madara."

"Who the hell is that??" Due to his idiotic question, Suigetsu was slapped upside the head by Karin's fist.

"You idiot! How could you not know who he is? He's only the founder of the Uchiha clan! Right Sasuke?" The man nodded in the affirmative.

"So… what? What does this have to do with anything?" Juugo, who had silently been listening to their leader's explanation, inquired. Everyone looked at Sasuke expectantly and waited.

"He's reviving the bijuu and gathering abilities from other advanced bloodlines. For this, I have to kill him as well." To this Sakura finally stopped being an add-on to the wall she was leaning against and she blurted, "But Sasuke! He went head-to-head with the First Hokage! They were almost completely equal in terms of ability! If he was up to par with the First then there's no way…"

"Who asked you for your input?" He snapped. The two former friends glared at each other and the other three members of Hebi exchanged concerned looks. Sakura's temper flared and she shook her head furiously.

"It's bad enough that you believe that Uchiha Madara is still alive, but then to go and say you want to kill him? He's one of the strongest shinobi who ever was! Even if what you say is true and he is the head of Akatsuki, you can't simply add his death to your to-do list! It's not as easy as that!"

"Maybe you lack the skills to do so, but I am perfectly capable. If anything, I have surpassed even the First's power. With that said, he is no match for me."

"And you come to this conclusion based on what Sasuke!? You have no idea what he is capable of!" Karin felt irritation fill her. Who was this girl to undermine Sasuke's abilities? He had killed Orochimaru hadn't he? And he was well on his way to finishing his brother as well. She was on the verge of voicing her opinions but Suigetsu covered her mouth.

"Better not get involved. This is a lover's quarrel…" Karin's eyes popped and a blush stained her cheeks. _What???_ She bit Suigetsu's hand. His reaction was comical as he abruptly removed his hand and proceeded to bad mouth her viciously but was stopped with a powerful kick to the throat from Karin. He twirled around from the force of the blow and Juugo caught him.

"Tch! I didn't need your…"

"Kill. I want to kill…" Juugo mumbled. The marks caused by his cursed blood snaked around his body. His grip on Suigetsu turned suddenly harsh and threatened to snap the ninja in two.

"H… Hey!!! Put me down!"

"Serves you right! I'm the only one for Sasuke!" Karin exclaimed. Juugo turned his attention to her and he dropped Suigetsu almost immediately before reaching a bulking, deformed hand out to grab her. Karin screeched in surprise when she was caught in his inhumane grip and she beat on him.

"Juugo! Let me go!"

"Girl. I'm going to kill a girl!"

"No!" Before Juugo could commence his threat, Sasuke had him back to normal with a simple jab to the gut. The wind escaped him and he gasped for more air to fill his lungs with, dropping Karin in the process.

"Dammit… he's a real pain…" Suigetsu mumbled rubbing his sore back. Karin wiped her glasses off on her sleeve and Juugo lay spiraled across the floor moaning in pain. Sasuke simply glared at all of them before returning his attention to Sakura who had watched them all in pure bewilderment.

"… I'm going to pursue Madara as well. I can't let either one of them live regardless of what you say," he concluded. Sakura didn't argue. He'd taken a guy out with one punch to the gut. If that wasn't an example of how much he'd grown in the last three and a half years she didn't know what was.

"Then… Then I'm coming too." One of his ebony eye brows arched with interest.

"Oh? And who said I'd let that happen?" Sakura smirked.

"You don't have to worry about me either Sasuke. I've gotten stronger too. Besides, it's my mission to bring you back to Konoha. I'm obligated to stay with you." For a minute nothing but silence filled the little room and Sasuke's followers watched to see how he was going to react. Amazingly, he simply shrugged his shoulders and addressed his team, "First, we'll find Itachi and then we'll begin our search for Madara. I've got a couple of leads as to where he is..." Sasuke continued about the way they were going to operate, but no one was paying attention. They were looking at Sakura in befuddlement. How was she still alive and standing after talking back to Sasuke? And then why didn't he simply maim her so she couldn't tag along with them? Who exactly was this girl?

----------

"There's not much time left… I… I don't think I can… make… it…," Naruto thought. He was submerged in water. An endless body of water surrounded him and he was sinking in it, sinking down to the black depths.

"_No! You can't die yet! I haven't fully regenerated my own powers! At this rate… we'll both…,"_ the kyuubi's voice started fading and Naruto's half lidded eyes drooped even more.

"Can't you do something? You are the great nine tails demon fox aren't you?" Naruto inquired mockingly. He wasn't met with a response. He felt a weightlessness on his drowning form begin to overwhelm him until it felt as though he was leaving his body. He couldn't understand how he could be weightless and still somehow be sinking. But then again, this was his mind and it had always been weird this way.

How had he come to this? He never wanted to resort to releasing the kyuubi. It was a menace, a terrible murderer! He had even decided not to use his destructive power anymore in order to save his friends after he found out that he nearly killed Sakura when he let the fifth tail form. The kyuubi was a vicious being with frightening abilities and Naruto wanted nothing to do with him.

How long had he suffered because of the fox's accursed existence? He was secluded as a child and though Naruto wasn't sure of it, he guessed that he was also the reason he had no family. The kyuubi was the reason he had to constantly prove himself to people; he had to discover his own purpose. But discovering what he wanted his life to be used for had been easy because of all the friends he made. His friends… Was he risking their lives by releasing the kyuubi's powers? He believed he could control it, supposing he survived the extraction, but what if he couldn't? Hell would come to earth. And what about Hinata? He wanted to save her, but what if he was in fact risking her life even more?

He never made the smartest choices he decided. And this latest one was a doozy. His eyes closed. What was going to happen? If he died because of his dumb decision, the kyuubi died too. That was good wasn't it? At least Akatsuki wouldn't be getting their hands on the last bijuu and with his sacrifice, Konoha would be spared.

"Maybe… maybe it's better this way… Maybe this… is for the best…," he mumbled as fatigue steadily consumed his body, "Perhaps this was my real purpose. Maybe I was just born to die and kill the kyuubi… Oh well…. At least I was worth something… And… at least I can do this much for you… Hinata…"

"_You dumb brat! Don't talk like that! You maybe prepared to surrender your life but I'm not!"_

"Eh? Kyuubi? I thought you were long gone… I can barely sense my own existence now… How are you still here?"

"_Because I refuse to die!!"_

"Heh. That's funny. You know the value of your own life and yet… you didn't care about the lives of the people you killed. If you ask me this is an end that fits you well…"

"… _Foolish imbecile!"_ There was silence and Naruto could barely feel the water around him anymore.

"_Your father was a fool too," _the fox said after a while. Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"You… you **did** know my father!?"

"_Yes… the damn Fourth Hokage, the Yondaime!"_ Naruto's eyes widened.

"What?? The… the Fourth… is… was… my…"

"_Yes. It's a wonder that the lowly humans you cherish so much kept such a secret from you, just like they kept me a secret from you for as long as they could… Your father was a fool to sacrifice his life on their behalf. They are conniving life forms indeed… always looking out for their best interests… fearing things they don't understand…"_ Naruto didn't say anything.

"_They disgust me!"_

"… Is that why you killed so many people?"

"_Yes."_

"… You wanted to clarify your existence too didn't you? You weren't accepted among the people… everyone hated you…"

"_Don't act like you understand me you dumb brat! I wasn't merely exacting my revenge on your fellow lowly creatures! I had been specifically summoned to wreck havoc on your village. I simply enjoyed it __**because**__ I was getting revenge."_

"… Who summoned you?"

"_Uchiha… Madara."_

"What? Who's that? And why?"

"_He was just like us brat, an outcast of society. Someone who was better off dead."_

"… Oh… Uchiha huh? Hm… Is he a relative of Sasuke's?"

"_Perhaps. But it doesn't matter now… If I ever see him again, I'll devour him on the spot! He left me condemned to this lowly state, condemned to live in this pathetic excuse of a vessel!"_

"Oi! I'm not pathetic!"

"_And yet here we are… knocking on death's door…"_ The kyuubi chuckled menacingly and then all was quiet. Naruto hadn't had a conversation this long with the kyuubi before. As insightful as it was, Naruto was kind of regretting it. He was the last person he was going to talk to before he left the world to go to the Great Beyond. How ironic. The kyuubi had in fact been the very first bond he'd created after all, even if he was unaware of it. And they were the same.

"Hey! Dumb fox! You still alive?"

"…_Yes."_

"You said we're the kind of people that are better off dead because we're outcasts right? If that's true… do you regret killing all those people before?"

"… _No."_

"But even you have to admit that they aren't all bad right? I mean… I'm not bad and you can empathize with me. And even if it's just one… it's better than none right?"

"… _You're truly foolish. I hate you just like the rest of them! And you hate me just as well!"_

"… Not so much anymore. And it's not completely that I hated you… I… I was lonely."

"… _But you aren't alone anymore dumb brat. That's why you're throwing your life away. You want to save them… those people…"_

"My friends. My village. My family."

"…"

"Kyuubi… If… if there was a way… I think… I think I'd let you live before me…"

"_What??"_

"Yeah. You can protect them. You have more power than I do."

"_But I wouldn't protect them!"_

"Yes you would! You owe me!! Besides… my friends are your friends too… Since we're one in the same…"

"… _You're a fool…"_

"You wouldn't have to be lonely anymore and it would be a way to repent for your crimes. Instead of destroying life, you could protect it instead."

"…"

"I think that's what the problem is and that's why the releasing jutsu isn't working. We're competing for control over this body. If I give all of it to you… please… protect them…"

"…"

"Oi! Dumb fox! Answer me!"

"… _You truly are the most idiotic human of them all."_ Naruto grinned.

"And… I'm your friend. Thanks… kyuubi… Sayonara…"

----------

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled when the seal disappeared. A fiery aura surrounded the unconscious boy and then suddenly vanished as soon as it appeared. Tsunade stood back and watched as Naruto sat up. His appearance had changed. The whiskers on his face were longer, hairier. His canine teeth protruded from his lips. His finger nails were long, like claws, and when he opened his eyes to look at her, she saw a burning ruby rather than the familiar and friendly blue.

"Kyuubi…," she acknowledged bitterly. The demon simply looked at her before grinning wickedly.

"Yes! I'm finally free!!"


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Reality**_

The whiteness around her began to blur as her vision left her, courtesy of the lack of oxygen reaching her brain, which was causing her to black out. She couldn't stop fighting here, not now. Not while Naruto's safety was at stake. She reached up for the arm of the hand that held its constricting grip around her throat and dug her nails deep into his flesh. Uchiha Madara screeched, startled by her piercing nails, and dropped her. Not wasting any time, Hinata began her attack.

"Eight Trigram Sixty-four Palms!" She screeched. Even if she didn't have her byakugan, she still had her other abilities to fall back on. Now, how effective these other skills were without the use of her byakugan was another matter all together. She spun around swinging her palms in fast slicing movements, hoping to cut the chakra flow to at least one of his hands. Madara evaded her fast swings, much to Hinata's amazement. What was more surprising, however, was when he managed to grab one of her hands and slam her to the ground before she completed the trigram. Her eyes widened in surprise and before she could catch her bearings, he buried the heel of one of his feet in her chest. She gasped as the air evacuated her lungs and he laughed at her expense. He then kicked her harshly, sending her spiraling in the opposite direction of the force of the blow. Hinata tried to get up but he had somehow managed to get to her before she succeeded. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought her face up to his.

"Though I applaud you for your efforts," he spat venomously in her ear, "there's no fighting the will of a god Hyuuga. It is absolute!" Hinata felt her eyes burn as water filled them.

_This can't be how it ends… Naruto! _She closed her eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable end, but when it didn't come, she dared to open her eyes a little bit and saw Madara sprawled in a heap a few feet away. She opened her eyes fully to make sure what she saw wasn't an illusion and sure enough, it wasn't.

"Yeah. Sure. Absolute **bullshit**! I don't know what's more pathetic, the fact that you think you're a god or the fact that you'd pummel a girl to prove it!" _That voice!_ Hinata looked up slowly to see the face of her savior. Her heart fluttered in her chest. _Naruto!_

"… This boy… No… The kyuubi…" Madara muttered to himself. His hand went under his mask and emerged with blood staining it, evidence that the sheer force of the punch had knocked a tooth loose or busted his lip. Naruto watched him angrily before cracking his knuckles loudly. He held a hand out to Hinata and she took it all too willingly.

"N… Naruto? Is that really you?" She asked as she pulled herself up with his support. He didn't look at her when he said, "Hn… Are you alright? Don't worry. I'll finish him off." He stole a quick glance at her and for that brief moment when their eyes met, Hinata saw something strange. She gasped a little but before she could say anything, he had turned his back on her and starting walking towards Madara.

_That's… that's not Naruto. His eyes are the color of blood… Is this… the kyuubi? _Hinata thought silently to herself as she watched his retreating back.

"I've been waiting a long time for this… If you just give up now, I might forgive you for trying to defy me," Madara claimed as he stood up. Naruto stopped a few feet in front of him. A demonic grin filled his face.

"Keh! I too have been waiting for this! There's no way… I'm going to lose!" Before Hinata could blink, the two shinobi were engaged in a battle that meant the difference between life and death.

-----------

"_**So," Tsunade started, "you're the kyuubi huh?" Naruto looked at her with a face in which his mental torment and satanic beliefs were evident. He moved his fingers in a strange way, bending them, flexing them as though he was familiarizing himself with the new limbs. He brought his hands to his face slowly. When he had his face covered, he didn't move for a moment. Tsunade watched him wearily, unsure of what to do. It was the first time in a while when she didn't know what to do with herself.**_

"_**It… it feels… so… good," the boy mumbled almost incoherently. Tsunade took a step back when he started trembling.**_

"_**Naruto…?"**_

"_**It… feels… so good!!!" He cried and then he started laughing. Tsunade frowned a little.**_

"_**Kyuubi!" She cried loud enough to reach his ears over the psychotic laughter. The fox stopped laughing and just sat motionless again.**_

"_**Where is he?? What have you done with Naruto??" She asked. Nothing but silence transgressed between them for a few minutes and then slowly, the fox turned to look at her. She felt herself shiver when his amber eye focused on her. **_

"_**I devoured him… same as I'm going to devour all the other humans…"**_

"_**No… No… That can't be!! Naruto would never let that happen! He's still alive! He has to be!" The kyuubi laughed again, but it was more controlled than before. He awkwardly slid one leg over the side of the bed he had been laying in, and then the other. Tsunade watched him in horror.**_

"_**Don't move another muscle or I swear that I'll kill you here and now!" She said. The kyuubi stopped and looked at her. Neither moved and they both were tense. Tsunade trembled a little and then fell to the floor.**_

"_**Naruto… Naruto you fool…," she mumbled. The kyuubi watched her a little longer and then got up from the bed. He stood awkwardly and then took a slow step forward. Tsunade looked at him.**_

"_**Don't move I said!" The kyuubi glared at her and took another step.**_

"… _**He… I… I have to help her… I said I would… But… if you interfere then I'll kill you." His tone was cold and emotionless.**_

"_**Wha… what? Help? Who?" She was caught off guard by his sudden declaration as she found his sudden want- no, need to help someone was completely different from what he had said a moment ago. The kyuubi just walked on, ignoring her question. Tsunade watched him and then got up to chase after him. **_

_**She followed him to Hinata's room and gasped when she saw him reach out to touch the unconscious girl.**_

"_**No! Don't lay a finger on her!" **_

"… _**How else can I help her then? Do you want her to die!?"**_

"_**But… you… How can I trust you??" The kyuubi stopped for a moment and then looked at her.**_

"_**The dumb brat trusted me well enough…" **_

"_**You think that's a good enough reason for me??"**_

"_**It had better be or this girl will die!" Tsunade didn't argue any further and motioned for him to continue.**_

"_**Just remember, I'll be here should anything go wrong…" **_

"_**Hn…"**_

-----------

Madara evaded another potentially dangerous punch from the kyuubi and delivered a counter blow that stuck him in the gut. The kyuubi stood back. Both panted.

"Not what I expected. I thought that after all this time your skill would improve and not falter… Has the jinchuuriki truly made you this weak?"

"Grah!! I'll kill you!!!" The battle started again and Hinata watched it all from a far. The battle seemed to be super human more than anything else. Getting involved would no doubt be the end of her.

"If you don't get serious soon this girl will die! I'm slowly draining her away from the inside out…"

"Bastard!!!" The kyuubi released a flurry of fast moving kicks and Madara blocked them all.

"Hm? Why are you getting all worked up? Since when have you been chivalrous? Since when have you cared about **humans**?" Growling ferociously, the kyuubi reached out to punch him again. When Madara jumped out of reach, the nine tails extended another arm made from his red chakra and grabbed the man's leg. He slammed him down forcefully and left a crater in wake of the force used to create it. Without giving Madara time to recover, the kyuubi pulled himself forward using his extra arm, and slammed a fist through Madara's chest. Blood gushed and created a pink mist that stained its surrounding. Hinata's eyes widened.

_He… killed him… Naruto…_ Removing his blood covered hand, the kyuubi sneered angrily.

"It's over…," he growled. Madara croaked and mumbled, "Impressive…," before turning into a heap of goop. The nine tails removed himself from the mess and growled angrily. Clapping sounded behind him and he whirled around angrily.

"Madara!!!"

"Very impressive. Well now that I see that you haven't gone soft, how about we have a fair battle? Let's fight somewhere where we aren't limited by the confinements of someone's conscious. Grant me this and I'll spare this girl's life." Cracking his knuckles loudly, the bijuu grinned.

"Death wouldn't be enough to stop me…"

"Good. Dispel!" Suddenly, the white space that surrounded them disappeared.

----------

Hinata opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurry. When the dizzy images separated as her vision focused, she saw that she was in a hospital room and Tsunade was watching her wearily.

"Ho…Hokage-sama?" She mumbled.

"Yes. You finally woke up from the genjutsu… Hinata… how do you feel?" The girl didn't answer right away. Instead, she sat up shakily and looked around the room as though looking for something in particular.

"He left," Tsunade answered as though reading the girls mind. Hinata looked at her curiously for a moment before saying, "So… it wasn't my imagination then… He really… was… But it was so strange. He wasn't anything like himself…" She tried to suppress the uneasy feeling that filled her stomach at the mere thought of the person who was animating Naruto's body. She couldn't bring herself to believe that her savior was the actual Naruto. He was much too cold to be him. Tsunade looked at Hinata sadly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I… He…That wasn't Naruto, Hinata." The ebony haired girl went rigid in Tsunade's hand and the Hokage only looked at her feet shamefully.

"That person wasn't the Naruto you and I know, that person… was the kyuubi."

"But… why… I don't understand… How did this happen?"

"Naruto was desperate for a way to save your life and turned to the only powerful source that he could think of… It seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to be bad judgment on my part…"

"No…"

"Naruto had me break the seal and he in turn gave his body over to the demon fox to control. I think… he lost his soul to the demon fox. The two of them were so tightly intertwined that it was going to be impossible to successfully separate the both of them with the weak releasing jutsu I used. I'm sorry Hinata. But… Naruto… is gone."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Moving and Not**_

Could she truly accept it? Even if she saw for herself that Naruto no longer owned his body, could she actually believe that that was proof enough that he no longer lived? No longer existed? No. She couldn't nor wouldn't believe it. How could she? It was too much to ask for while she still lived only because of such a sacrifice. He had been the one who was in danger. She was the one that was supposed to protect him. How had things backfired this much?

_Because you were careless!_ She thought bitterly, _Can't you even save the man you love you worthless girl?_ She pulled at her hair in frustration, tears streaming listlessly from her tightly closed eyes. The fighting had stopped abruptly. Akatsuki had pulled back and most of the Leaf ninjas came back unharmed. They were unaware of the fact that the reason their battles had come to an end was because Naruto had saved them all by sacrificing his life. What was more, why had he done such a thing? Surely he must have known how it would affect her? She sobbed loudly and crouched down to the ground. Was this what all her hard work had produced in the end? A life without Naruto?

He was her icon. He was the person she strove to become. She'd trained endlessly, doggedly to become as strong as she was to be that person and yet, her hard gained strength amounted to nothing when the time came for it. How had it happened? Why was she so weak?

"Naruto! N-Naruto…," she whispered in desperation. He was her example to follow, her ultimate goal to achieve. For years he had been unreachable, unattainable. And then, she had grown. He had grown. She'd matured. She'd gained confidence. She'd realized that she was in love with Uzumaki Naruto. She'd told him so. The omnipotent object of her affection had then become her best friend and somehow, she had become someone so important to him that he was willing to risk death to ensure her safety. How could emotions be so strong that way? She wailed loudly in lamentation. Why? Why had she told him that? What good had it done her? Sure, it had created a bridge between the two of them, but it only lasted a good year and a half and he never once indicated that he shared her feelings and even if he had what then? What would have become of them?

She had imagined that he would become the new Hokage after the Godaime stepped down. It was only natural given his talents and his love for the village. Plus, she wasn't the only one in the village who admired him. Everyone loved Uzumaki Naruto. She had hoped to be the lucky lady that would rule beside him, or not even rule, just be at his side. She had hoped that by telling him she loved him, another bridge would form. One connecting their separate pasts, present, and unknown future together. But by telling them how she felt, had she in fact damned the both of them to a cruel future in which neither could happily exist with the other?

"Naruto!!!" She yelled once more, hoping her voice would reach beyond the vast distances that separated them so he could hear her. She screamed again until her voice grew hoarse and her throat hurt.

"_You… you are the kyuubi's weakness!"_ That's what Madara had called her. Was that all she was, a hindrance, even despite all her hard work? Her tears finally spent, Hinata settled for staring out the hospital window blank faced. Her heart hurt worse than any physical wound she'd ever received.

"Naruto… what do I do now?"

-----------

The kyuubi stopped walking and turned around to face the Hidden Leaf Village. Something held him back and he looked on at the place yearningly.

"I don't belong there…," he mumbled and continued on his trek. The longing feeling filled his being to the point that his chest hurt and he stopped again.

"Human emotions are so stupid and pointless… and yet… powerful. Even though he no longer exists, the dumb brat's influence must still affect his feelings. Leaving the village must be difficult for him… no… leaving **her** must be difficult… But… this is my body now! I'm in control! And I'm leaving!!" He tried to take another step forward but couldn't. He frowned angrily. It was similar to the way Naruto's feelings had provoked the fox to rescue Hinata even though he had wanted to do nothing more than kill the Hokage and Madara.

"Even in death you confine me!! Damn you! Damn you!!" The kyuubi cursed, "Maybe I should have left her for dead!! Then she wouldn't be such a burden!!!" He winced as the thought alone of taking Hinata's life was enough to make his heart race painfully in his chest. He growled fiercely and punched a nearby tree.

"Stop it! …Maybe… Maybe you still exist after all… Heh. What a stubborn moron… Hm…" He looked at Konoha again and then snorted unpleasantly, obviously finding disgust in what he was thinking.

"Then… Boy… I… I'll return as soon as Madara is dead. Then… then…," unable to finish the sentence, the kyuubi turned on his heel and began walking again. The feelings weren't as smothering and heavy as before because they had receded into a tolerable hopefulness. He looked into the distance with determination and thought, "_you can live with her…,"_ to wordlessly complete his sentence.

-----------

"Sasuke! I sense a fearsome chakra… I mean it's… it's crazy powerful!" Karin exclaimed. Sasuke kept walking, unperturbed by Karin's news. He had long sensed the enormous chakra before she had even spoke of its existence. Even a moron could have sensed that vast amount of energy. Sakura watched Sasuke to see how he'd handle himself and was surprised when he kept walking.

"What should we do? It seems like the person is gaining on us," Karin reported. Uneasiness was undercoated in her voice but she continued to follow him dutifully.

"Sasuke…?" Sakura inquired. Sasuke stopped and his platoon followed suit. For a moment no one moved and no one spoke and the unknown force was steadily gaining on them.

"H…hey…. I don't like this Sasuke. What are we gonna do?" Suigetsu questioned.

"…We'll engage the person in combat. If it's an Akatsuki, we can get some information about Itachi," the Uchiha explained simply. He drew his katana and turned around slowly. His eyes were crimson with the gift of his clan coursing through his veins.

"Get ready. He's here." No sooner had the words escaped Sasuke's lips was everyone else bracing themselves for battle as well. A form walked steadily towards them through the trees and brush. As the person got closer, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. She could make out the distinct orange jumpsuit that was all too familiar.

"N…Naruto?" She said uncertainly while lowering her kunai. Sasuke held his katana steady even as the sight of his ex-teammate came into plain view. Naruto stopped walking abruptly when he saw the five shinobi blocking his path. They seemed ready to engage him in battle. One of his eyebrows rose curiously as he found himself recognizing some of them.

"Naruto! It **is** you! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the village?" Sakura demanded furiously. She put a hand on her hip and shook her finger in his face in a chastising manner, "It's not safe here!" Naruto didn't flinch or withdraw in fear of the angry kunoichi. He instead observed all of them stoically.

"… There's something I have to do," he hissed after a while, "So get out of my way." No one moved and Sakura looked at him curiously. Not only was it out of character for him to snarl cruelly at her, but it was unlike him not to get all excited about seeing Sasuke. Besides that, there were some slight modifications to his appearance as well, such as the claw-like finger nails and grotesque fangs protruding from his mouth.

"Naruto?" Sakura took a step near him but Sasuke held her back by blocking her path with his katana.

"You… you aren't Naruto," he proclaimed. The kyuubi smirked wickedly and licked his lips.

"I remember you now... You're that Uchiha kid that managed to get into that brat's mind and subdue me. I believe I did make a promise to kill you the next time I saw you…" He dropped the pack he'd been carrying and the smirk on his face grew into a sick smile that bared all his sharp teeth and filled his face. He cracked his neck bone noisily and motioned for Sasuke to bring it with a motion of his fingers.

"Uchiha… Sasuke … Shall we? I was just getting bored, itching for some blood…" He cackled evilly and Sasuke glared at him. When he inched forward to meet the kyuubi's challenge, Karin stood in his way.

"You can't Sasuke! His chakra levels are amazingly powerful! Inhuman! If you've got to fight him, we should fight him together!" Sasuke pushed her out of his way forcefully.

"Don't interrupt Karin."

"But Sasuke! He's not even Akatsuki! We should be searching for Itachi and Madara!!"

"Akatsuki you say? Madara? Uchiha Madara? Kukukuku! Fight me and if you win I just might tell you what I know…," the kyuubi said enticingly. Sasuke glared at him coldly and then smirked.

"Don't worry. This won't last long." Karin gaped at his response and Sakura watched him inch closer to Naruto. Something was seriously not right about this. Maybe she still had a hard time seeing the two duke it out even though they used to fight a lot as children. Whatever the reason, the sight of her two best friends fighting never sat well in her stomach.

"No… No don't! Sasuke! Don't do it!" Without thinking, Sakura reached out for him and wrapped her arms securely around him. Sasuke stopped and his platoon looked on mortified.

"Sasuke… don't… don't fight him," she pleaded.

"Sakura… stay out of the way!" He growled. The kyuubi glowered at the two meanly as an alien feeling began to fill him. Was it jealousy? No. The kyuubi knew jealousy. This was something else…

"Dumb brat…," he mumbled bitterly finding the feeling to be overwhelming enough to halt him, "What the fuck is it this time?" No one seemed to notice the nine tails talk to himself so when he picked up his pack and started walking away, no one knew why. Sasuke watched him in bemusement for a moment before stopping him with katana.

"Where are you going? I'm not letting you leave until you tell me what you know," he stated coldly. The kyuubi didn't move and started trembling.

"…Follow me to the Hidden Rain Village," he said gruffly. Without waiting for Sasuke to lower his weapon, he lowered the katana for him forcefully and continued on his way. The five watched his retreating back in awe.

"Do… do you think he's telling the truth?" Sakura asked.

"I don't think we should trust him! Did you see how quickly he changed his tune?" Karin stated. Suigetsu nodded in agreement with her and looked at Sasuke. The man sheathed his sword and followed after the kyuubi.

"It's worth the gamble. From what I know so far… the Hidden Rain Village could actually be where everything comes together…"


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Cursed Time**_

_Time stands still for me… I am stuck in the endless cycle of time. The sun rises, but I don't see it… I don't feel the new day's come. I… am stranded in eternity…_

The kyuubi walked on, moving forward, but he felt like his efforts were getting him no where. Sasuke's team had been following him a few meters behind since they had met up an hour ago. He silently wondered if they too felt like prisoners to time.

Every time he had been summoned, it was a new era, a completely different time and place than he knew. He felt stuck and unmoving whenever he thought too much about it because the people hated him no matter what time it was and he could only lash out in response. When would he be able to move on?

Sakura watched Naruto's back before turning to look up at Sasuke. His face was passive as he faced forward, looking onward to his destination. She wanted him to look at her as confirmation. Had what he told her been the truth? Was that person in front of them really not Naruto? Was it really the kyuubi? As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't go against the obvious truth; this person in front of her wasn't Naruto. How had it happened? Had the Fourth's seal finally weakened?

She remembered the times when they were children. She recalled the way they traveled together and how they would talk to pass the time. Naruto was always making loud unnecessary comments and Sasuke was always calling him a dumbass. Sakura had been quiet or she would jump in and agree with Sasuke. But it was just playful banter. Who would have thought those simple and joyous times would come to such a sad end that produced such a bleak future? Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes. _A future without happiness…_

Sasuke watched Sakura from the corner of his eye. She was crying silently. He was a little surprised that she hadn't blatantly spoken of what was troubling her like she would have as a child. Had so much really changed these past three years and a half that Sakura had been turned into such a recluse? Sasuke looked away from her and watched the kyuubi's back as he led them to their destination. Where were they truly headed? He had once suspected that this was his fight alone and he probably wouldn't survive it. But here he was once again with his friends, his nakama. He hadn't thought about them that way in a while and still would have tried to kill them if they stood in his way, but something Sakura said shed a light on his darkness. The cursed seal and Orochimaru's teaching probably made him into the phlegmatic man he was today, but Sakura's words somehow woke him up. He didn't want to think of death after Itachi. He wanted to revitalize his clan and he wanted a future, a peaceful future, one he couldn't have with such a plaguing past still present. By killing both Itachi and Madara he was sure to erase the disgrace that was put upon his clan thanks to their cruelty and evil. But would life be what he wanted after he accomplished his life's ambition? Sakura gave him hope, but seeing her tears, seeing the kyuubi instead of Naruto gave him despair. _Maybe shinobi really aren't supposed to acquaint themselves with happiness…_

_This is the path we walk… The future unknown… yet… certain… The cogs of time turn ever so slowly… The past is but a memory. The present is but a dream. Time… is absolute._

----------

"They'll be coming soon…," Madara said, "This is it. The battle of all battles. The battle that makes or breaks the continuum of time…" He smirked a little inside his mask.

----------

_Prisoners to the past..._

Tsunade looked at the monument of the Hokages and stared at her grandfather's face.

"What's going to happen next? I have an ominous feeling…" She wasn't aware that a young girl was also gazing at the monuments, and also shared her auspicious feeling.

"I wonder... what this feeling is...," Hinata mumbled to herself.

----------

_Today… Tomorrow… Yesterday… The next day… Where will we be? Where will we have been? Where are we now? The unanswered questions …_

"We can't just go into the Hidden Rain Village. I heard it's nearly impossible to enter if you're an outsider," Karin explained. All six of them stared at the large gate wearily.

"… No. They're expecting us," the kyuubi said. He stepped forward and pushed it opened. It creaked loudly and the ground rumbled as it moved allowing them passage. Rain fell in the village perpetually and instead of being met with a guard seeking battle, nothing came at them. There was nothing but the perpetual rain fall, pitter pattering on the ground.

"Let's go," he growled. He walked forward and the rest of them followed.

----------

"Yes… Let us send them a little greeting… Go. This will be interesting…," Madara said. His minions were already on their ways to greet them.

----------

_Time can turn the most painful cut into a festering wound… What should have brought us together has indefinitely torn us apart…_

The kyuubi stopped abruptly and the rest followed suit only their defenses were put on a little too late. They had already been caught in a high leveled genjutsu. The kyuubi cursed under his breath and dispelled the alternate reality before he could be taken in by it. He ran at an amazing velocity towards the tower where he felt Madara was waiting. The rest of the team was separated as a thick mist covered the area. Sasuke frowned angrily and looked around him. He saw nothing but the thick mist and then he felt the presence of someone else.

"Itachi…," Sasuke growled angrily. His brother appeared before him nonchalantly.

"Tell me Sasuke… what do you see?" He asked while inching forward threateningly. Sasuke stood his ground.

"I see… you dead!" Itachi smirked.

"Well… let's see how good your eyesight is." Without warning, he rushed as Sasuke with a kunai and Sasuke blocked the attack with his katana's blade. For a moment they were caught in a power struggle and then Itachi flipped over Sasuke, grabbing his collar as he went, and threw his younger brother down. Sasuke gathered his chidori and slammed his fist into the ground, causing Itachi to jump in order to avoid the electric sparks. Sasuke expected this and jumped up with his katana. When they came down, Sasuke had Itachi pinned beneath him, sword impaling his heart.

"Tell me something Itachi… I want to know before I kill you…" Before Sasuke could finish, Itachi turned into a bunch of crows. Sasuke turned around just in time to see his estranged brother turn the tables and impale him with a kunai.

"What was that? Little brother, were you saying something?" Where he expected to see a look of pure horror on his little brother's face, he found amusement in the form of a satanic grin.

"What…" Sasuke turned into a bunch of snakes and disappeared. "Genjutsu!" Before he could locate his younger brother, Sasuke was upon him and sliding his sword, cackling with electricity, through his brother's heart. Itachi paused for a moment, unmoving, and then blood gushed from his mouth.

"I believe I said that this is the end for you and I meant it… **brother**…," Sasuke growled venomously, "Now before you die tell me… what do you see? Do you see the faces of our family? Our clan? The faces of the people whose lives you took? Do you feel their pain?" He stuck his katana through his brother's chest even more, causing Itachi to fall to his knees while more blood oozed from his wound.

"I hope you get what's coming to you… Die and go to hell you traitorous, murderous fuck!" He took his sword out, but made the experience as painful as possible. Itachi gasped one last breath and crumpled to the ground. Sasuke watched him.

"Bastard…"

----------

_What are we even fighting for anymore? The time for war has long since past. When will the sun rise for us? When will the new day break on the horizon? When will we find peace?_

For some reason, he couldn't locate the rest of the team. The heavy mist was to blame and he smirked when he recognized the person who'd created it.

"Kisame-sempai…," Suigetsu said as a person snuck up behind him.

"Who? What are you talking about?" He turned around and saw Karin looking at him curiously.

"K… Karin?? What are you doing here?" The red head kunoichi straightened her glasses and shrugged.

"I dunno. Somehow we were caught in a powerful genjutsu and ninjutsu simultaneously. I think we've been separated from everyone else…," she answered, "The castors' of these spells must have amazing amounts of chakra but I didn't sense a thing…"

"Well, this **is** Akatsuki we're dealing with. They aren't going to be some pushovers…" Suigetsu drew his sword and motioned for Karin to come closer to him.

"At least we can defend ourselves together," he claimed when she put her back against his. They stood that way, waiting for something else to emerge from the mist.

"Do you think… everyone else is okay?" She asked. Suigetsu grinned.

"Worried?"

"Shut up! Don't make fun of me!"

"Keep your voice down idiot before you give away our location! ...I wasn't making fun of you. I was just stating a fact. One I think is amazing considering how you used to be when you were under Orochimaru and all…," the Hidden Mist ninja said, "You must really feel guilty about what you did to Sasuke…"

"Save it! I… I'm no different from how I've always been…"

"Right… if it makes you feel better… I know that guy wouldn't lose so easily. He's really something else… that Sasuke… And I'm kinda a little jealous of your guys' relationship." Before Karin had a chance to reply a figure emerged from a puddle at their feet. They jumped away immediately and watched as Kisame formed from a large mass of water.

"Kisame-sempai… It's been a while…," Suigetsu acknowledged. His fellow Hidden Mist shinobi grinned psychotically and said, "Yes it has… Suigetsu… I will enjoy… destroying you."

----------

_Would time stop if I failed here? Would the future cease to exist? My past is my present. How will this future come about?_

Sakura dodged an attack from her opponent only to run into another attack. Before she was hit with it, Juugo pulled her out of harm's way forcefully.

"Th…thanks…," She mumbled.

"Hn…"

"You two are talented… but I doubt that you will be able to match our skills," the man who resembled a pea in a pod exclaimed. His partner, another Akatsuki member smirked.

"Let's end this!" He hadn't anticipated Sakura's earth quake that rumbled the ground he'd been standing on and lost his footing. Sakura grasped this chance and shoved her fist into his chest. She felt all his ribs crack and give way from the amount of chakra she had concentrated into that one attack. The man groaned and spit up blood, obviously one or both of his lungs had been punctured by the collapsed ribs.

"This isn't the end for me! I won't lose!" She cried.

-----------

"Ah… so you made it past my barrier…" Madara said. The kyuubi stood before him angrily.

"I told you… not even death could keep me away…," he growled.

"Excellent. I admire your strong resolve kyuubi… but resolve isn't enough to defy the will of a god. I **will** have you. That… is as certain as time is unending…" Madara stood from his perch on a high throne and glared coldly down at the kyuubi before him.

"Time… I manipulate time," he claimed, "with powers that are omnipotent. I can mesh the past and the present to create a new future, one filled with chaos… You who knows no time will help me do it. Just like the other bijuu. Just like always and forever more. But... I sense a change you all since you've become acquainted with humans. The same humans who have plagued us for generations. The same people who deprived us of our happy future... I wonder if this battle… will finally decide which future will reign supreme. I wonder… who will time stop for today?"

"If you just stand there talking about bullshit all day then we'll never know now will we?"

"Heh! Impatient. Fine then. Come." As soon as the words left his mouth, the kyuubi started his attack.

For too long had his opponent been the reason he could never move forward. He punched Madara angrily, and cracked his mask. Madara countered and kneed him painfully in the gut. He had learned how to make time move with Naruto's help. As much as he hated and despised him, he could no longer deny the fact that all he had experienced with the boy had taught him things he would have otherwise never have known. He was grateful. And when he realized that his problem and the boy's problem were one and the same, how could he deny him when he came to him with help? He was going to make Madara pay for everything. For everyone.

When Madara lost his footing due to a bad fall, the kyuubi used his chance and pulled him towards himself with a chakra arm. He held Madara tightly and smiled.

"This ends now…" he mumbled. He forced chakra from his body and it accumulated into a densed, black ball. Madara's eyes opened widely and he gasped.

"You can't do that here! The bijuu-no- **everything** will be destroyed!!"

"All the more reason that I should do this!"

"No! You fool!"

"Good bye… Madara… the bane of my existence…" He forced the ball of chakra to hit him and a giant explosion occurred.

----------

He was floating in a vast space of nothingness. When he put his hand in front of his face he didn't see it. In fact, when he had moved his arm, he could barely sense its existence. Did he even exist anymore? Had he truly died? No… he could feel others there with him, possibly Naruto's companions or possibly whatever remained of the Akatsuki.

"_A space and time manipulation ninjutsu…,"_ he gasped. Of course! That was how Madara had defied death and had called on him so many times before to wreck havoc on the world. He must have trained so hard to obtain such a destructive power. Was he even still alive? Possibly. If he had manipulated the space there was a possibility that he could have escaped. But how? Everything seemed warped and messed up… It was so dark…

"I can see… I can see stuff from my past…" Huh? That voice?

"_Eh? Brat? Is that you?"_

"Yeah… it's weird huh? One minute I was gone… the next I'm here seeing myself…. My whole life story up till now. What is this?"

"_I think we're in a warped space. Perhaps something went wrong with Madara's calculations and so now we're here…,"_ the kyuubi explained, _"What do you mean? You see the past…"_

"Just what I said. It's like a movie or something. I'm watching myself doing things… things I remember… I don't get it… Don't you see anything?"

"…_No… I see nothing… I have no past or present… I have nothing…,"_ the fox growled angrily.

"Eh?? How can that be?? No matter… What's more important is how do we get outta here?"

"YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF HERE! THIS IS YOUR DIVINE PUNISHMENT HANDED DOWN BY THE HAND OF A GOD!" A threateningly destructive presence emerged from the black abyss and the kyuubi felt himself gather form. He was back to his original self all nine tails and four legs. Madara stood before him angrily.

"_Madara! Quick kid, choose a place in the time stream that you want to be at and leave here! I'll hold Madara back!"_

"Huh?? But I can't let you do that! You've already done so much-"

"_Shut-up and go already!!"_ Before Naruto could protest, the kyuubi shoved him viciously with a paw and Naruto found himself falling. Where was he falling to? He saw Madara and the kyuubi begin to fight.

_"I'll kill you!"_

"I can't die! I'll never die!" The kyuubi bit Madara's arm and used a claw to imaple his heart. Madara stopped and spit up blood. Stubbornly, he stabbed the kyuubi in the heart with a kunai and blood splattered.

"Kyuubi!!!!!!!!" Naruto cried. He was getting farther and farther away from them.

_"Don't worry... And... thanks kid… for everything…"_ Naruto felt his eyes water. Realizing there was nothing more that he could do, he closed his eyes and imagined the place he wanted to go to. Because he knew exactly where he wanted to be.

-----------

"Oh my gosh! It's a miracle! Tsunade-sama! Look! There! On the horizon! I think it's them!" Shizune cried. It had been a month since the attack and Naruto's disappearance. Along with Naruto, Sakura had gone missing as well. She'd nearly given up hope for the both of them but found that something was keeping her from believing that they wouldn't return. She looked out at the horizon and sure enough saw the familiar dorky grin on Naruto's face as he carried an unconscious Sasuke on his back with Sakura's help. There were three other ninja with them but Tsunade would worry about them later. She felt tears fall. Dammit. Now her image was ruined. Others came over to see what the fuss was all about and a large commotion started.

"They're back! They came back!"

"They're alive!" Hinata used her byakugan to see through the thick crowd and gasped when she saw him. Her heart stopped and she turned away. She wouldn't run over to him. She wouldn't get her hopes high. No. She'd remain at a distance.

Naruto looked around the crowd seeing all the familiar and recognizable faces of his fellow villagers but when he didn't see the one face he had wanted to see the most he felt his heart drop into his stomach. Tsunade noticed this and then tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. He followed her finger and saw a girl with long dark hair walk away from the scene. Her head was down cast and she looked solemn. Naruto couldn't contain himself and he pushed through the large throng of people and started running to her. Despite his fatigue, he ran. He was using something other than adrenaline to keep himself mobile. And this something filled him to his very being.

"Hinata!" He cried. The girl stopped walking. Naruto finally caught up to her and doubled over to catch his breath.

"Where… are… you… going?" He asked between large gasps of air. Hinata didn't look at him.

"Is it… really you this time… Naruto?" She questioned. Her voice was small and raspy sounding. He looked at her curiously before straightening and grabbing her arm. He spun her around and she still refused to meet his eyes, opting instead to stare at her feet.

It would be too much for her to take in all at once if he wasn't the real Naruto. She felt like she would die on the spot if he turned out to be the kyuubi. When he touched her cheek gently and then forced her to look at him, she found herself gazing up into familiar cerulean eyes.

"Yes… Hinata, I'm home…" Her heart skipped a beat and she cried.

"I… I'm so… glad!" She started wailing then and Naruto wrapped his arms around her and held her, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo.

"Yeah… I'm home…" _Change can happen... Time…has progressed…_

_

* * *

_

_A/N: _So yeah, sorry if it wasn't as action packed as some would have liked, but i did my best. Anyway, that bit between Sasuke and Itachi might have been familiar to you guys keeping up with the manga because that's how it went down. I dunno if he's really dead or anything... but I added my piece. I just wanted to give credit where credit's due. Yeah. So thanks for reading and review if ya like.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Epilogue: Our Future**_

Five years later…

The two friends stood at the training grounds together. A nostalgic feeling filled the long haired kunoichi as she watched the warm breeze tickle the branches of the trees, causing them to sway. She leaned against a wooden pillar, closed her eyes, and absorbed her surroundings. The action was to calm her racing nerves more than anything else. They were alone again in the place where it had all started and this time it was a little more intense then it had been back when they were teenagers. Hinata had changed. She was no longer a lovesick puppy. Unbeknown to her, Naruto had changed as well. She wasn't aware of the way he watched her, soaking in her beauty. He was still unable to believe how he'd managed to get her there alone. Maybe they could finally talk. She'd been dodging him for far too long… When she opened her eyes and caught him staring at her, the two blushed and looked away from each other bashfully.

Finding the atmosphere to be smothering, the girl looked back at her friend and offered him a forced smile to soften the awkwardness between them.

"I'm so excited… today's the day!" Hinata exclaimed merrily.

"Hehhehheh… you act like such a kid… Hinata." The ebony haired girl playfully stuck her tongue out at the man before her and then said, "You're one to talk! You're trying to act so cool but you know you're just as excited as I am!" Naruto smiled. She was right, but only halfway. He wasn't acting cool to hide how excited he was about his inauguration but to hide how nervous he was to be alone there with her. He took a step towards her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her close to him. She gasped in surprise and a blush crawled its way on her cheeks when he wrapped his arms around her waist. He brought his forehead down to hers and they were so close now that their noses touched. Hinata went rigid in his arms.

"I'm more nervous than anything else," he claimed sheepishly. The girl giggled nervously and cupped his face in her hands hesitantly.

"Don't be. You've earned this! It's what you always wanted and now you have it. I'm so proud of you…" Naruto's eyes fluttered closed in content as he felt her soft, delicate hands on his bare skin. He brought his hands up from her waist to cup her hands and stroke her long petite fingers affectionately as he whispered, "Being Hokage… wasn't the only thing I wanted… Hinata…" The girl's faced flushed and she looked at her feet shyly.

"N… Naruto… what… what are you saying?" She wanted to pull away to create some space between them but he only held her tighter. She gulped nervously and took deep, short breaths.

"Hinata… you… you haven't been the same since that time… since that time five years ago when Akatsuki attacked the village…" His tone was serious and carried a sad property to it. Hinata couldn't meet his gaze. She didn't want to know what he was thinking by seeing those large cerulean eyes looking at her. She trembled a little and Naruto pulled her into himself, laying her head against his shoulder as he gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know what happened… but… I can't stand how much it changed you," he claimed breathily. She felt his warm breath against her neck and involuntarily trembled with delight.

"I… I don't know… what you mean… Naruto…" For a minute neither spoke, and the two just reveled in the other's embrace instead. Hinata's heart was beating so fast and hard that she was sure he could feel it against his stomach. She had tried to control it. She had tried so hard to keep her feelings at bay. But it was no use. There was no containing the extra rush she got whenever he was around her.

Pushing herself away from him forcefully, Hinata shook her head furiously and said, "We… we can't! I can't do this Naruto!"

"Why not Hinata? I don't understand! This is what I mean! Ever since that time you've been keeping your distance from me! Why?" He demanded. He grabbed her shoulders and looked down at her sternly. She wouldn't meet his gaze and he hated it. She never looked at him directly. Not anymore. The subtle ways she managed to keep her distance were hurting him. She had definitely changed since that time five years ago and Naruto wanted to get to the bottom of it. He had waited for her long enough and he was tired of waiting. Everyone else was happy with their significant other and Naruto wanted to share in that happiness as well.

"Hinata! Don't you understand why I'm bothered by this? I… I…," his face turned beat red and his grip on her shoulders tightened in his nervousness. Hinata held her breath and waited.

"I mean… all my life I wanted a family… just as much as I wanted to become Hokage… Hinata, aren't you jealous of Sasuke and Sakura? They're expecting their third child already! Their family is growing bigger! And what about Neji and Tenten? They have four children! And everyone else is happy too! They're all so happy Hinata!" Reluctantly, she met his eyes and saw the desperation on his face. She saw just how much pain she was causing him.

"Naruto…," she whispered. He pulled her closer again and she didn't fight him.

"Hinata… I… I love you," he said. His voice cracked a little and he wanted to slap himself. He didn't want to sound so needy, so weak. But he was desperate for her to understand.

"I love you and I want to have a family with you…," he said in a more controlled voice. He pulled a ring out of his pocket and placed it on her left ring finger shakily. Hinata stared at the modest golden ring. It was a small engagement ring, the diamond in the middle was barely the size of her pinky nail but it was the most beautiful shade of blue she'd ever seen. Her hand began to shake the longer she stared at the ring and Naruto watched her reaction wearily.

"Please… Hinata… marry me?" The woman barely comprehended his question but when the words he spoke finally registered, she shook her head vehemently.

"N… no!"

"But why not? Hinata! I know you love me! I **know** you do! So why won't you marry me!? Is it because I'm going to be Hokage? Does that bother you?" Hinata shook her head and grasped her left hand with her right and brought them to her heart.

"Then what is it? Why have you been so cold to me? What is it that I did wrong? I know I took forever to respond to your feelings but we were kids Hinata! I didn't understand then like I do now! But Hinata you've always been my most cherished friend and… and…," he stopped talking when he saw how his words weren't having an affect on her. He took a step away from her and looked at his feet.

"I'm… too late… aren't I? You… you must really love someone else then…" Nothing transgressed between the two for a few minutes and Naruto forced a pained smile on his face.

"I'm sorry Hinata… I… I'll just go…" He turned to walk away but felt a small fist grab onto his back and pull on his clothing. Her grip was tight and Naruto stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hinata?"

"That… that time… I thought… I thought I lost you… Naruto…," she said slowly after a few minutes. Naruto stood rigidly when he felt her hand shake.

"I… I was… so sad… Naruto… I thought you'd died to protect me… I… I couldn't… I couldn't accept the fact that your feelings for me had driven you to such extremes as that. So… so I thought that if I kept my distance… those feelings would die and we could live our lives in peace but… but…I'm so stupid! I couldn't suppress my feelings for you and you…" Her grip weakened and Naruto felt her come closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and buried her face into his back. He felt her tremble and hot tears wet his back.

"You love me! You love me!" Her voice was muffled but Naruto could feel the intensity of her words. They stood that way for a few minutes, Naruto letting Hinata cry as long as she needed to. When she finally calmed down, he pried her arms away from around his waist and turned around to face her. Her eyes were red from crying and her face was solemn.

"I… I don't want to be hurt like that ever again… Naruto…," she whispered. He smiled softly.

"Then… is that a yes?" Hinata blushed and looked at her feet.

"Maybe." His smile widened and he took her into his arms and spun her around yelling out "yeses" and "woohoos" in his mirth. She laughed and held him tightly. When he put her down, he looked into her eyes lovingly and said, "Now, I'm the happiest man in the world!"

"I'm glad…" Unable to contain himself anymore, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. Hinata moaned and pressed herself against him. He groaned in his throat and pushed her against the nearby wooden pillar for optimum closeness. He beckoned her mouth open with his eager tongue and Hinata allowed him entrance. His tongue was warm in her mouth and it explored her hungrily as he tasted her. He pushed up against her more and Hinata's back arched instinctively. Her heart beat rapidly and just when she thought she'd black out from the lack of oxygen, Naruto broke the lock on their lips and withdrew his tongue. He began trailing hot kisses down her neck instead and she held his head, loving the feel of his soft, golden tresses against her hands.

"N… Naruto… the inauguration… ceremony… you'll… you'll be late…," she grunted breathlessly. Naruto stopped mauling her body and looked at her hotly. Hinata silently thought to herself, "_Please don't look at me like that… I can barely control myself as it is…"_

"… Alright… You're right. I have to go…," he said in a raspy voice, thick with his desire. Hinata's cheeks heated and she dared to breathe when he finally backed away from her. He took her hand into his and smiling, led them away from the training grounds and towards the village, towards their future.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's the really real end! I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thought I was gonna leave you all deprived of some good ol' NaruHina fluff huh? Wrong! 

This story was kinda complicated because I had started writing it during the time the anime was in fillers and the manga hadn't produced any new chapters (a sad time for Naruto indeed) but then, the manga started again so the story became what I wished would happen between Naruto and Hinata as well as what I predicted would happen in the future of the series. Yeah. My ideas probably are no where near the reality but hey, I think it'd be kinda cool if some the stuff I wrote about happened. You don't have to agree with me.

So anyway, go me! I finished another one! And since I got positive feed back for this story, I might post another NaruHina that will be strictly NaruHina. Yeah. Thanks again for reading. Adios until next time.


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